To keep a seeker
by Cepticon
Summary: Seekers are a strange and beautiful race. Their prince is so sought after, it starts a war. An alternative beginning and ending for Transformers:Prime AU. Primeverse/Golden Age. Rated M for later chapters. (NonCon?)
1. Bad decisions

_Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, naturally._

_Although this story is meant to be Primeverse, I have used the colors of G1 for Screamer, simply because I like them better._

_This story will be basically about Starscream, but see for yourself. I will use the cybertronian words for days, hours and so on, so to help you figure out what I mean I'll give you a list of everything, that I might use. There will be some OC sidecharacters, but they are needed for the story._

_Nanoklick - 1 second_  
_Astrosecond - 8.6 seconds_  
_Klick - 1 minute_  
_Breem - 8.6 minutes_  
_Groon - 1 hour_  
_Joor - 6 hours_  
_cycle - 1 day_  
_Paracycle - 3.9 days_  
_Decacycle - 1 week_  
_Megacycle - 1 month_  
_Quartex - 4 months_  
_Metacycle - 9 months_  
_Stellarcycle - 1 year_  
_Vorn - 83 years_  
_Eon - 10000 years_  
_Trimara - 333333 years_  
_Lightcycle - 1000000 years_  
_Gluxin - 7000550 years_

_English is not my native language, but I'm doing my best, so please forgive me my mistakes._

* * *

A soft, cool breeze that gently stroked his wings, woke the seeker prince from his recharge.  
Slowly he let his systems boot before he onlined his optics. Finding the imported, soft organic fabric a little too cozy, instead of standing up, he lazily stretched his limbs and glanced out of his enormous crystal window.

The sun had already risen. He was late.

A knock on his door.

"Star, are you still in there?" It was Thundercracker's voice.

The door panel made a soft beep and the decorated silvery-white gate swished open.

"'Told you he is still recharging!" Skywarp exclaimed in an amused tone.

Ignoring his trinemate and eying his trineleader, Thundercracker walked over to the floating berth and sat down next to the upper left of the bluish-white crystals that graced the shining metal berthpost.  
Gently the blue Seeker stroked the Prince's wings.

"Cloundwing's been looking for you. Are you not feeling well?"

"Nah' y' know Star's just being a lazy aft."

"Oh, shut up Skywarp! I just overslept that's all. Stop that snickering of yours."

Stilling Thundercracker's arm with his hand Starscream stood up with a graceful swing.

Dutifully taking his place behind his trineleaders' right wing Thundercracker watched as Skywarp whirled around to stop behind Starscreams left, grinning all the way.

It hasn't even been a vorn since they had formed a trine. Although they had known each other before. The seekers had first met in military flight school for the noble inhabitants of Vos.

How Skywarp had ended up there, no one knows.  
Not being a noble, Skywarp had caused an uproar by joining the royal trine, since many of the aristocrats had disagreed. Starscream had stood his ground on that matter and had not regret it since. His trinemates were a perfect match for him, always being able to hold their positions, even when flying difficult formations and moves.

And Skywarp could teleport. Which had shown to be very useful on more than one occasion.

The trine walked down the shining corridors to the grand hall as an agitated red-white seeker strode around a corner.

"Your Highness! Where have you been?! You should be at the library by now."

The young prince turned around to face his royal advisor with a scowl on his face.

"Good morning to you, too. I will go after morning procedure."

"Well my chronometer says morning is almost over and you will not be keeping your teacher waiting young prince. And you two!" Cloudwing turned to Thundercracker and Skywarp "You are now the royal wingmates. It is your duty to preserve the image of Vos' royalty. I know you where only concerned about your Trineleader, but get back to school. It doesn't look good when you are cutting class."

Exventing heavily Cloudwing ended his scolding to briefly massage his head.

"He sure is grumpy today..." Skywarp whispered leaning in to Thunderckracker's audials, receiving an elbow to the side from him.

The royal advisor shooed the blue and black-purple seekers away with a motion of his hand. After they had left he carefully shoved Starscream to the next flight deck by his backstrut.

"Come, we're already late."

The flight from the palace to the library was short but Starscream deliberately slowed his pace, to have more of it.

Vos was as beautiful as ever. The richest city of Cybertron was mainly built of cybernetic platinum. Its floating towers that where spiraling up to different heights were decorated with only the finest crystals and most filigree carvings. Large, arched windows substituted most of the walls. There was a large crystal garden next to the upper section of the palace tower decorated by lacy platinum pathways and pillars and a huge market platform in the middle of the city where the newly traded objects from off world where presented.  
There where no streets that connected the v-shaped towers, so no grounder could maneuver properly. The force field dome around the isolated free state offered additional protection.

Ever since the queen had left Vos leaving her sparkling seekerlet behind, the security measures had been set higher. The city state was now ruled by the chosen seneschal Moondancer.  
The aged grey-indigo seeker femme had been given the role to watch over Vos until the prince was ready to be crowned. She instructed to guard the city with a domed force field, with guarded exits in every cardinal direction; and set up a curfew for its inhabitants. Everyone who wanted to go out had to get permission first.

Getting permission to leave or enter was not too difficult, there was no poverty and the safety was almost flawless.

It was perfect.  
Unless you were the overly protected adolescent of the queen.

x-

Finally landing at the library Starscream was greeted from another irritated seeker. Coldwind, his always scowling private teacher.

"Good afternoon your Highness. Cloudwing. I take it your schedule was full activities of utmost importance, since you haven't found the time to inform me of the rearrangement of our lessons. Well, let us not waste any more time, you still have many things to learn my prince."

The stiff, iceblue teacher gave a court nod sharing a glance with Cloudwing.

"I am leaving him in your care, the seneschal awaits me." The advisor said, before igniting his thrusters again.  
With a final look to the flying form Coldwind turned to Starscream again.

"Let us begin."

x-

The classroom went abruptly quiet as commander Firestorm entered through the dark metal doors of the military grounds in the outskirts of Vos. The students stood rigid and called a formal greeting.

"Good afternoon. Today we will study the new EM-pulse grenades. Every lost limb will be your own fault, if you don't listen carefully in the theory session today. The field tests will be done in trines. To still all upcoming questions on this regard, Professor Coldwind has notified me, that his royal Highness, Prince Starscream of Vos, will not be joining us this cycle."

With a snicker Skywarp elbowed his trinemate, "'Told ya TC, _Mr. Hailstorm_ has him in detention!"

Thunderckracker only rolled his optics at that, before he was startled into attention, by the bellow of the commander.

"No whispering in here! Be quiet and take your notes!"

Skywarp cringed and quietly took out his datapad.

* * *

In the throne room Moondancer waited for the advisor. Her loyal pitch-black trinemates Ignition and Dead-aim like shadows by her side.

After a knock outside the giant gate, caused by the spears of the fighter jet guards being struck on the ground, to open the door, Cloudwing entered with a datapad in his arm.

He bowed briefly laying his wings down a little as a sign of submission and went over the red crystal line that went through the room like a carpet, halting before the stairs to the throne and bowed again.

"Greetings Cloudwing. How are you feeling? Have you brought me my daily reports?" Moondancers sharp vioce rang through the hall.

She took the data pad that was handed to her and scrolled through it lazily.

"Thank you Cloudwing. Now tell me my son, how are you? And how is prince Starscream doing? I rarely get out of this room and am hungry for news." She said, putting the datapad into the hands of her left wing Dead-aim.

"I am fine thank you. Concerning his highness... he is still very.. Impulsive... and knows exactly what he wants."

Moondancer quirked an optical ridge "He is just like his carrier, stubborn, proud and advenurous" she laughed.

"Mother, please!"

"What? Can't an old femme talk about her friend like she was still there? Oh, the old times.. She was like a daughter to me..."

* * *

A joor had passed and the sun was setting.

Having finally finished his lectures the pristine white-black-red-blue prince lay splayed on the large berth in their trineroom.

Each noble trine had one in addition to their respective quarters.

From outside the door he could hear faint voices.

"Seriously 'warp, you nearly offlined us. Next time you forget your count, just throw the damn thing."

"Aw, come on, it was funny! .. Sorta..."

"You're an idiot sometimes."

"'love you too~"

Then the door swished open. "Star! Star! We were playing with grenades today! It's sucks so much you were in detention."

Thundercracker rolled his optics for the umpteenth time. "You really should be glad you weren't there, he almost got us killed. It's a wonder none of us got damaged."

Starscream sat up, to look at his trinemates. "I was NOT in detention. I just caught up on my lectures. But I would have liked to see the faces of the others after the explosion"

The blue Seeker crossed his arms over his cockpit and eyed his trineleader again. "I think you have been acting a little strange lately. Are you really alright?"

Skywarp flung himself to Starscreams side and snuggled up to the other "Yea.. Care to tell us what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, really. I have just been bored lately. The everyday life is killing me, I want something interesting again."

"I know what's interesting! And I've always been curious about it. I mean, the rumours you hear have to come from something~" Skywarp chirped happily, while Thundercracker brought his hand to his face in an annoyed way.

"Oh this _can't_ be good."

"-**Kaon**! Come on guys, we have to go there! There are grounders, and gladiatoral arenas! And other stuff! Please?"

Whipping out his arms in frustration Thundercracker stared unbelieving at his black-purple trinemate. "You can't be serious! We are definetly _not_ going to _Kaon_!"

"Actually..." Starscream spoke

" I would love to go."

* * *

**TBC...**

_I'm also dividing the seekers in groups._

_Space Shuttles - like Skyfire_

_Fighter jets - like Dreadwing_

_Coneheads - like Ramjet _

_Air Superiority jets (will only be called seekers) - like Starscream_

_Stealth jets - smaller jets, no example_

_I hope you enjoyed the prologue._

_Critique is very welcome, but please keep it constructive._


	2. Visit to Kaon

Skywarp awoke, when someone nudged his wings.

"Whadissisd?" He yawned out as he streched, before rubbing his optics sleepily.

"It's time for morning procedure." Thundercracker spoke softly.

"Where'sStar?"

"I'm right here."

After a heated debate about the plan to sneak out to Kaon, the royal trine had spent the night together in their trinequarter. Thundercracker was of course still against it, being too worried about the dangers and consequences, but he didn't stand a chance against his stubborn trinemates.

Since a new cycle had started though, the blue Seeker had high hopes, that the others would give up on their plan as the cycle progressed.

x-

Enjoying the beautiful sunrise through the open windows along the corridors the royal trine made their way to the washing bay of the palace, greeting the guards and servants on the way.

The light yellow painted door opened as soon as the sensors noticed their arrival. A yellow stealth jet with soft pink accents turned around to greet them.

"I wish you a lovely morning, your royal Highness. Left Wing Skywarp. Right Wing Thunderckracker. What can I do for you today?" The soft voice of the femme floated through the air.

"Good morning Summerbreeze. It's a beautiful cycle today, I think I will go with an extra rich polish for my finish after a wash. Mild solvent and detailing." Starscream announced smiling at the owner of the washing bay.

"Of course your Highness. And the royal wingmates?"

"We will go with the same, but normal polish, thank you. "

With a smile and a court nod Summerbreeze called her trinemates Stillflight and Soaring and instructed the stealth jet femmes to take care of Skywarp and that, she led Starscream to one of the big crystal cabins.  
The daily wash was a ritual for every seeker, depending on their status it varied from a brief wash, to a luxurious all-round care in the palace washing bay. For extra care, every citizen had the right and permission to take a trip to the city Stanix, where a lot of professional varnishers had opened their stores, every decacycle.

x-

After the standard vosian maintenance the trine bid farewell moved on to the grand hall for morning court. They nodded to the gate guards Redwing, Dreadwing and Skyquake, waiting for them to stomp their decorated spears to open the doors and call out their designations to alert the others of their arrival.

"His royal highness, Prince Starscream of Vos! Right Wing Thundercracker! Left Wing Skywarp!"

Gracefully the seekers entered the hall, wings held up proud and high, always walking in formation.

Vosian nobles, who had also gathered for morning court, came to greet them bowing before their Prince and sending disapproving glances towards Skywarp, who had already learned to ignore them.

"Good to see you're on time today prince Starscream." The royal advisor came up to them, followed by his trinemates Coldwind and Firestorm.

A servant passed by bringing refined energon of the highest quality, served in long stemmed crystal glasses. The early morning socializing and talks began, while everyone refueled.

"Hold your wings high, Skywarp. Some of the others simply are to stuck up to acknowledge you. I know that you have great abilities and are perfectly fine as a royal wingmate despite not being a noble. Don't let them grate on your processors." Firestorm, the vosian military commander, said, nudging Skywarps wings up in a familiar way.

"Don't worry, I won't let those slaggers drag me down." Skywarp grinned before being reprimanded by Coldwind for his bad language.

From her grand hall throne seneschal Moondancer watched the events with attentive eyes. It was crucial for her position, to always be observant of the citizens of Vos, to be able to still upcoming troubles before they even occured. Laying her pink optics on the adolescent Prince and his trine, she whispered to her own trinemates, careful not to show her concern.

"Keep an optic on Starscream. I have the feeling he is up to something."

* * *

The morning procedure ended, the lessons begun and the cycle calmly passed by; the cybertronian sun had almost set and the royal trine was back in their shared quarter.

"Ok, so are we going now?" Skywarp asked, giddily hopping up and down earning a smack on the helm from Thundercracker.

"Are you crazy? We are not going. This could be dangerous. Not to mention the consequences when we are found out."

Starscream stepped in. "It will be fine TC. Warp can bring us to Kaon and back within a nanoklick. The chances that they discover our little journey are slim. Besides, it would do you good to relax once in a while."

The blue seeker heaved a sigh. "I don't know what should be so relaxing about breaking the law but ok. I'll trust you. Please don't make me regret it." he said, hooking into Skywarps arm to be teleported along.

"Chill, TC, it will be fun. I've downloaded a map of Kaon and'll warp us right to the deeper levels. The authorities won't know whe're there." And with a pop and a purple flash the three of them where gone.

x-

Filthy.

That was the first word, that came to Starscreams mind.

Kaon, the decepticon capital city was the exact opposite of Vos. It was like one giant tower, that spiraled down instead of up. It was dark, the buildings where worn, filth covered the uneaven streets, and a strange thick fog, that nearly burned ones intakes and olfactory sensors hung in the whole city.

The citizens seemed like criminals, none of them seemed to even know what polish is, some even had splintered paint. There was no elegance to those bulky forms and everyone here seemed to be either a brute, a lying bastard or a whore. This city had really earned its bad reputation.

"Urgh, pit, I think I got filth stuck in my thrusters." The prince stated with a growl.

"I think we have other problems right now. We are standing out way too much. They are already looking at us. We should leave now." Thundercrackers voice was strained with worry.

"Won't work. I'm plum tuckered out from warping here. We'll have to wait a to go back. And hey, being gawked at is nice isn't it?" Skywarp smiled stroking the worried seekers cockpit to calm him.

"I agree. When we force Warp to teleport us back now, we'll probably end up Primus knows where. Let's take the opportunity and have a look at Kaon while we're here. I'm curious and maybe the first impression is deceiving."

Starscream was right. Thundercracker had to give up. "Fine, we'll watch a match in the arena and then we'll head straight home, ok?"

* * *

It had been a good day for Megatron.

He had gotten a pay raise today, didn't suffer from any damages and was ready for his fight.

Calmly he sat on a bench behind the trellises to the arena and waited for his turn.

Each Match consisted of three fights and since he was this arenas champion, his battle would be saved for last. The Gladiator used his remaining time to think back to the old days.

Life had been rough with him. He had been a miner once, digging for minerals and energon without getting a break or a single credit for it.

The mines were dark, hot and humid. His 'comrades' had been all psychopaths, playing with the limbs of their deceased friends, keeping them as pets for entertainment. Deaths from exhaustion or cave-ins occurred every cycle. But Megatron wasn't sure, if the gladiatorial arenas were that much better.

After he had escaped the mines through brute force, he had found a home in Kaon, if one could call it that. He had gotten into many street fights and ended up in the largest, most popular arena of Kaon.

Swiftly he had seized his place as the champion. Ever since then he had lived in the decepticon capital.

The fights brought him a decent amount of credits, as the spectators always bet a lot of money on him. The rules of the battles were simple, too. There were two sorts of fights.

Brawls against other Gladiators, which ended with the defeat of the opponent; and Death matches against beasts that were cloned solely for the fights from fossils in the military city Kalis, where weapons were forged, soldiers were trained, and banned scientists, Shockwave being one of them, performed their illegal experiments, like the study of a mech named Soundwave.

The latter of course, was paid better, but no one was forced to participate in them.

Neither of them allowed firearms.

Megatron decided to risk his life for the credits once more today. He had earned himself the best room the arena had to offer. Actually he didn't find it in him to complain about his situation much. The dorms beneath the Stadion had a shower room, energon dispensers in every floor and corridor, a medbay, the security was the best you could find in the whole city and it wasn't even dirty.

The only downside he found, was the fact that he had to risk his life and kill, for the entertainment of some sick and twisted rich people who had found a liking to spilled energon.

It almost made him purge.

* * *

Finally the trellises opened. The fight would begin soon.

With slow, purposeful strides, the gladiator champion walked to the middle of the arena, silently lifting his fist, as a greeting to the audience. The crowd roared and cheered upon his arrival.

Not sparing them a singe glace, Megatron focused on the trellis that held his opponent for today. A giant, acid spitting, horned beast, four times his size would be his challenger today.

Rejoice.

A low droning tone signaled the start of the fight, and with sheer aggression the beast came running towards him, aiming to impale him with the horns on his head.

Skillfully Megatron dodged almost every one of the beasts' attacks only a few grazed him, still ripping his armor painfully.

The gladiator fought back expertly with a grace that almost made it look like he was dancing a brutal dance.

x-

During the fight the acid of the beast had melted away a bit of the protective glass to the spectators' seats.

That went unnoticed by the seeker trine though, since their peace had been disturbed by an offending hand.

With hurried steps the seekers had made their was to the arena just in time for the fights. They had been lucky the spectators were already too focused on the fights before them to notice their gleaming frames, as they sat in the upper ranks far behind.  
Thundercracker felt sick and ready to purge, Skywarp seemed to enjoy himself and Starscream was disgusted.

At first.

Watching the way Megatron fought, the princes' expression morphed more and more into awe. Never had he thought that something so savage, could look so elegant.

It was the way the Gladiator moved his impressively strong and well shaped frame, that got Starscream so distracted he stood up and went down the stairs between the seats to get a closer look not noticing Thundercrackers worried calls.

In doing that, he got noticed.  
The kaonian mechs, who were used to pit fights, suddenly forgot about their bets, to stare at the winged frame before them with wide optics, so bright in shock they threatened to crack.

One of them sprang up from his seat.

"SEEKER!" He screamed and pointed at Starscream.

With that several mechs stood up and tried to paw at the prince.  
The Seeker screamed and backed away, fearfully pushing his wings in a downward angle.

Not watching where he went, he fell through the hole in the glass and into the arena. He managed to land on his thrusters, but in a matter of klicks the beast the gladiator fought, was towering over him. Glowering at him with hungry optics and bared dentae.

Before a whimper could escape Starscreams voicebox, it fell to the floor with a loud thud that shook the ground and a gush of energon splattering from its throat.

x-

To calm the shivering form before him, Megatron threw away his energon stained sword and approched him.

He stopped right before the seeker and glanced threateningly to the crowd, daring them to come down to him.

As everything went quiet again, and the credits for the bets were exchanged he finally looked down at the unknown mech, whose wings still quivered in fright.

"What is a beautiful thing like you doing here?"

* * *

_Regarding the connection between Shockwave and Soundwave I mentioned;_

_I am planning to write a seperate short story about those two, after I have finished this one,_

_which could take a while..._

_That's all I had to say for now._

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter._


	3. Megatron and consequences

Thundercracker sprang up, as he saw his Trineleader fall into the arena. After the crowd had calmed down, he snatched Skywarps arm and sprinted down to his Prince.

Angling his wings back in an aggressive position he glared at Megatron, who stood too close to Starscream for the blue seekers liking.

"Get away from him!" He hissed at the gladiator, Skywarp following suit.

"At ease you three. I'm not going to harm any of you. It would only bring me trouble, if I hurt my spectators. But tell me," His low, smooth voice rumbled "What is your purpose here? I have never seen a seeker in Kaon."

Sensing no imminent danger, Starscream calmed down, wings slowly getting back to their normal proud position.

"We came here to take a look at the city. Actually we had wanted to return straight away, but then we'd decided we should at least watch one of the famous fights in the arena." Starscream explained.

"Yeah, and we can't go home right now neither. Way too dished. We'll have to wait until tomorrow." Skywarp chimed in, earning a warning 'hush' from Thundercracker.

Megatron raised an optical ridge at the words of the black-purple-white Seeker. "Then it would be best for you to keep my company during your stay. Kaon is not a friendly place and you really don't blend in here. You might end up kidnaped and sold to a brothel." his voice warned in a serious tone.

"What's a brothel?" Starscream whispered over his shoulder to his trinemates, who only shrugged not knowing either. Things like that didn't exist in the sheltered city of Vos.

Megatrons mouth almost fell open at that. "You don't even know what a brothel is? ... You really should stay with me. Besides... you owe me for saving you." he added with a smug grin.

"We really don't know if we can trust him. What if **he** wants to sell us?!" Thundercracker whispered to his trinemates.

"I don't know..." Starscream considered the offer, taking a look at the gladiator before him.

He had many scratches in his paint and a mix of fresh and dried energon stuck to his frame. Aside from that, he actually didn't even look half bad. His armor was elegantly shaped and even had details. The dark violet armor beneath the silvery-grey main armor also added a nice touch. His frame could tell tales of the power that it held. From the way he talked, one could make out, that he was relatively well educated; especially for a kaonian. And as he had stated, he had saved him and not tried to harm him since. If he had wanted to, he would have probably snagged him right away.

"...I think we should trust him."

The blue seeker stared unbelieving at his leader, while Skywarp was excited they would spend time with a gladiator.

Said gladiator grinned and turned around. "We should leave the arena. Follow me."

Starscream hesitated a moment, watching Megatrons broad, spiked shoulders and back. There where decorations on that, too. He decided he liked the way it looked. 'Scrap', he thought, faceplates heating up slightly. In his opinion, he liked it a little too much.

Coming to halt next to a side entrance outside the arena, Megatron turned to look at the seekers again. "So, would you join me for a drink?"

"Yes," Starscream spoke, hungry from the exhausting event. "Lead the way."

"No. It would be best if you walked in front of me, so I can keep an optic on you. I don't want anyone to harm you behind my back."

"You haven't introduced yourself yet." Thundercracker intervened with his arms crossed over his cockpit and an annoyed look on his face.

Megatron grinned at that "I thought since you had seen the match you already knew. I am Megatron, gladiator champion of the pits of Kaon. Can I have your designations, too?"

"I'm Skywarp! The grumpy one is Thundercracker and this is Starscream!" The left Wing yelled happily, gesturing around.

x-

After the introductions they went off to drink, the seekers walked in formation, looking at the city, while Megatron shepherded them along from behind, with his optics always alert. The Group walked around the city, going up to the next level since the only things in the one at the bottom where the arenas and a few weapon stores. They came to a bar, with a glowing sign that said 'Macadam's old Oil house'.

"Here we are."

The Seekers stepped through the doors, glad to get out of the filthy, narrow streets. As soon as they entered, mechs stood up staring at them with wide optics, but averted their gaze and sat down again, as they saw Megatron leading them in.

The bar, that was decorated with colorful light pipes, and big stage with dancing femmes on it, seemed quite crowded, making the flyers feel uncomfortable once more.

A mech approced them carefully, dipping his head as a greeting, almost frightened. "Good evening, welcome to my Bar. May I suggest a deal?"

Megatron growled at him warning, but nodded. "All your drinks will be on the house tonight, if those lovely friends of yours agree to sit on the stage today. I will ready a table and chairs?"

"Why not, it won't harm us." Starscream spoke, convinced of the fact, that this deal had been suggested as a compensation for the lack of other free tables.

The dancers where shooed from the stage, so that a table could be set up and all optics could leer at the rare guests.

Keeping closely together the trine walked onto the stage and sat down, Megatron always watching their backs, stopping right at the stage, using it as table, glaring at everyone who dared to come too close.

As they drank and talked the gladiator took advantage of the moment to get a good look at the seekers. All of them where beautiful, with their gleaming, polished paint and gorgeous frames. The four colored one, this 'Starscream' though, was by far the most stunning creature he had ever laid his optics upon. His pristine white wings with a single red stripe on each, where a tad longer and slightly more elegantly shaped than the others'. His waist was slimmer and Primus, his white-blue legs and thrusters. The way he had moved his stunning hips in a fluent, soft swing as he walked, clicking his high-heeled thrusters, had distracted Megatron a few times during the walk here. His bright red cod-piece was also more filigree than the ones of his companions. The heels of his thrusters were also a bit higher. And his wings were beautiful. And his waist. And his slim, long legs. And thrusters. And hips.

Sharply averting his gaze, Megatron took a deep vent and a sip from his drink. Pit, if he continued like this, he wouldn't be able to control himself much longer. Now focusing on the seekers face, which also was very nice, he drank his drinks in peace, watching over his companies.

x-

"I feel dizzy~" Skywarp whined as they left the bar.

"Me, too, the energon had a sharp taste to it." Thundercracker growled annoyed.

"Of course it did, that was High-grade. But you didn't even drink a cube. You never had it before I guess?" Megatron stated amused, while Starscream made a humming sound

"So that's what it tastes like, I've always wondered."

"But if Skywarp is drunk, how are we supposed to get home? It's getting really late! It's already the next cycle!" Thundercracker exclaimed and his wings moved down forming a displeased horizontal line.

"You should be recharging in my quarters this night cycle. There is no better security in Kaon than the one in the arena and I won't leave you out here in the streets. Especially at night."

"Yeah, right-!"

"Thundercracker, please." Starscream cut off his trinemate, "My head aches. Let's go with him."

* * *

A whole vosian military squadron was scanning the floating city right now. Cloudwing had gotten a comm. link call from his trinemates, that none of the royal trine had been seen this cycle and are not responding to comm. link calls.

"Where are they?!" The advisor shouted to himself, transforming to his bipedal mode and stopping in the air. "If Moondancer finds out I lost them again, she will have my head."

Spotting some guards on the way to their work, he called. "Dreadwing! Skyquake! Search the Platinum Mountains and Mythril Lake!"

They had to be somewhere within the vosian force field, since no one had passed through the gates of it today.

Unless...

"Slag it! Skywarp!"

Transforming again he shot off in the direction of the palace tower, landing on the main flight deck. Exasperated he stormed down the corridors with loud clanks of his thrusters. He inhaled deeply and had the guards open the gates to the throne room.  
In it, Moondancer sat on her throne, legs crossed, her chin propped up on her hand in a lazy fashion.

"Let me guess." the old femmes voice toned in a bored and knowing tone. "Starscream and his trine have snuck out and you can't find them."

Cloudwing looked towards the ground, ashamed. "I.. Yes, mother."

"I knew it. Their tense wings yesterday told me that they where up to something." With the flick of her wrist she beckoned her left trinemate closer. "Dead-aim, activate your radar system and extend it's range as far as you can. Search for Starscream."

After a breem, he spoke. "The royal trine seems to be in Kaon, seneschal."

"**KAON!**" Cloudwing screamed enraged and disbelieving, whipping his wings back.

"That is quite enough, son." The seneschal coolly reprimanded her son, "Dead-aim, send the coordinates to Ignition. Cloudwing, you will call your trinemates and stay here. Ignition..." she looked at her right wing with a vexed expression, " go fetch the brats."

* * *

It was already late in the morning as the vosian prince awoke. The first thing he felt, was that he was not in his own berth.

Startled he onlined his optics and looked around.

"Relax, you're safe." A voice spoke calmly.

Seeing Megatron leaning on the wall in the corner of the room, Starscream relaxed. His trinemates were lying next to him on the, for vosian standards, small berth also slowly waking from their recharge.

"Are you feeling ok?" The gladiator asked, a little concerned that the high-grade might have harmed the seekers. They _did_ look frail after all.

"Yeah, just thirsty." Skywarp answered yawning.

After Megatron had brought them fuel from the energon dispensers in the halls, they had decided to use the morning for a tour around Kaon with the gladiator. After that, they would go home.

Kaon was a little nicer in the daylight. At least with a feared gladiator protecting you.

As they where talking and laughing while walking around the city, no longer paying mind to the filth covering the streets, the dark, rumbling sound of powerful thrusters rang through the air. Before they could look up, the pitch-black right wing of the seneschal landed with a thud, merely a wingspan away from them.

"You three. Home. Now." Ignitions' voice left no room for discussion.

Protectively Megatron took a step forward with a menacing scowl on his face. Starscream stopped him, holding his hand in front of the other mechs' chestplates.

"It's ok..." He whispered and took a step forward, wings sagging downwards, systems creeping with presentiment. Thundercracker heaved a frustrated sigh and Skywarp skidded closer to his trinemates, frightened and ashamed.

With firm steps, Ignition approached the cowering royal trine, a hard expression on his faceplate. He took the wrists of Starscream and Thundercracker and instructed Skywarp to teleport them to the main flight deck on the Palace. With a purple flash they were gone, leaving a confused gladiator behind, with the burning desire to meet the four colored seeker again.

* * *

As soon as the gates to the throne room opened, the furious scoldings and defenses began, creating a mess of shrieking voices.

"**QUIET!**" The seneschal's voice cut through the air like razor-sharp blades. Everything went still and she began to speak again.

"I will not tolerate such behavior. Cloudwing, you and your trine will take the younglings to the medbay for examination. After they have been cleaned and repaired, I want you to take care of them. Firestorm, you will take Skywarp."

The addressed mech bowed and left the room, dragging Skywarp with him by the arm.

"Coldwind, you will find an adequate punishment for Thundercracker."

He also bowed, and left the room, Thunderckracker following behind, whispering an angry 'Star, ...I regret it.' as he ashamedly walked away.

"And Cloudwing, please make sure that the young prince learns his lesson."

"Of course, seneschal." With a bow the royal advisor laid a hand on Starscreams backstrut, shoving him out of the throne room. "This time, you will not be getting away with a scolding and a slap on the wrist."

* * *

_TBC..._


	4. Bathing it out

The medical bay was in the same floor as the washing bay -each covering half of the tower section-, just underneath the royal quarters, throne room and grand hall.

The quarters of the other nobles, who resided in the palace, lay beneath; and the bottom of the palace tower was used as treasure chamber.  
Cloudwing walked the young prince down to its light blue door, keeping his hand placed on his backstrut, slightly shoving him all the way.

The door slid open and three nurses bid their greetings.

"Doctor Hazeglide is awaiting you in the large examination room." One of them informed them with a low bow and a smile, before returning to their posts.

Not being in the mood for formalities, Cloudwing brought his protégé to the assigned chamber.

"Hazeglide? Are you there?" He called upon entering.

A few klicks passed, until a snow white stealth jet came in to the room from a side door.

"Ah, your Highness. Cloudwing." The medics' soft voice sounded in the large room. "Prince Starscream, if you would please take a seat on the berth over there, so I can examine you."

The prince nodded gloomily and did as he was asked. Cloudwing moved to stand with his trinemates.

"I heard about what happened from Coldwind and Firestorm and I really think you shouldn't do things like that, your Highness. It is dangerous. You could have gotten killed." The gleaming white stealth jet chided his patient, while searching for serious injuries. "You three are lucky to not have suffered any wounds. I see no external damage." He said, standing up.

"Like your wingmates you will need to go to the washrack over there. After the cleanser did it's job, you will need to lie down on one of the medical berths, so I can do a full scan on you."

When Starscream entered the wash rack of the medical bay, Skywarp and Thundercracker had just finished their washes.

"I told you to not make me regret it, Star." The blue seeker growled.

With an annoyed huff, Starscream answered back. " Oh please Thundercracker. I know, that we have made a big mistake and I'm sorry to have dragged you into this with us, but I'm really not in the mood for arguments right now."

The right Wing deflated. "You're right. Arguing will get us nowhere and I already gave Skywarp here a piece of my processor. Apology accepted. Let me help you wash up, so we can get this over with."

Skywarp moved to help. "Sorry guys, it was my Idea... but you have to admit, it was kinda fun. 'Though I think we're in a lot of slag right now."

The others shot him a 'you don't say'- look before the royal trine walked out of the wash rack. Each one of them was guided to a berth and hooked up the computers.

"I see nothing fatally wrong with them." Hazeglide said pacified, after checking all of their data with utmost care.

"You are free to go."

"Thank you Hazeglide. Come, prince Starscream." Cloudwings voice was sullen and stern.

Still having his wings in a downward angle the four-colored seeker let himself be led away by his advisor, while watching his trinemates over his shoulder with longing, apologizing optics, as they were led into different directions by Coldwind and Firestorm.  
The walk along the corridors and up the stairs seemed like an eternity. The young prince dreaded the consequences of his actions more and more with every step they took. The familiar hand, that resided on his backstrut, giving him a constant push was like a herald for bad news.

A cold shiver ran down Starscreams frame as they came to halt before the private chambers of his minder. Cloudwing entered the code to his quarters and nudged the other in. Locking the door behind him, he strode to his berth and sat down. To calm his riling systems a little he exvented, before he beckoned the young seeker closer.

"Come here."

Starscream looked up, surprised by the harsh tone, then set on a pleading look.

"Cloudwing, I'm sorry really. You can't possibly mean to -"

"-get your aft over here!" He hissed out.

The young prince gave a start at his advisors' sudden outburst and walked over hesitantly, wings dropping further down.

The angered mech patted the berth to his right side and waited until Starscream had sat down, to slowly grab his neck and drape him over his lap. The princes' wings began to quiver slightly in fearful anticipation, as a firm hand was pressed between them, and another lightly touched his tail.

"You really have gone too far this time Starscream. I'm disappointed in you." Cloudwing said, slowly raising his hand.

A loud yelp escaped the adolescent's voice box, when it was slammed against his backside, leaving a stinging sensation.

"It has been a long time since I've had to do this to you, and I really hoped, I wouldn't have to do it again."

He harshly brought down his hand once more, making the other wince and squall in pain.

"But you leave me with no choice."

Another fierce spank fell onto his aft and Starscream began to thrash around, trying to get out of the offending grip. As the hand between his wings only pushed down harder, he set his sharp talons onto Cloudwings thigh and started to scrape. The advisor flinched and struck Starscreams aft hard.

"Don't you **dare**! You have brought this on yourself and now you will sit through it!"

The red- white mech increased his force and set a brutal pace for his strokes. The adolescent on his lap clawed into the tarp on the berth, squirmed and wailed loudly as he was mercilessly spanked. After a few breems the squirming slowly stopped and the wails turned into soft whimpers and sobs. Cloudwing still continued to chastise the young Prince, who winced, wings twitching downward in pain with every whack.  
With one final hard strike, that made him scream in pain again, his tormentor finally released the hold on his back.

Starscream kept lying where he was, soft whimpers still escaping his voice box. His wings trembled, and his aft burned from pain. He felt his advisor pick him up and carefully lay him on his side, softly stroking his cockpit to comfort him.  
The Turbines of both seekers whirred astir.

"I'm sorry..." Starscream whispered faintly and shyly, apologetically snuggled up to Cloudwing, who lay down beside him, caressing his cockpit, clicking and cooing until he had calmed.

"Just don't make me worry like that again."

* * *

Later the three punished seekers met in the crystal garden near the palace. They nestled up, stroking each others wings in concern.

"My aft hurts." Skywarp wailed.

"You too, huh?" Starscream gave him a sympathetic look.

"Well, you really _did_ deserve it this time. I'm lucky I got away with a sermon." Thundercracker said, rubbing his trinemates' wings consolingly.

"Are you ready to go, your Highness?" Dreadwing stepped forth.

He and his trine had been given the order to accompany the royal trine to the neighboring city Stanix, for a luxurious care Hazeglide had prescribed, to rid their intakes and tank of the filth and help them relax again. He really was the best medic one could wish for.

"Yes, we are ready to go."

-x-

Stanix was definitely the most beautiful city the grounders had built. It was the home to fashion obsessed cars and sports cars. There where rivers flowing next to some brilliant streets and the bright, slightly auburn tinged metal buildings where clean and polished to an elegant shine. It was the richest grounder city on cybertron, having earned its credits from bartering with Vos. The vosian space-explorers brought useful organic materials they found on other planets and sold maintenance products and other things they manufactured from them to Stanix. Stanix perfected the usage of the products and sold its spa services back to the vosians.  
The royal trines favorite spa belonged to a red sports car named Knockout and his blue jeep partner Breakdown.

"Woah, what happened to the three of you?" The red sports car exclaimed taking in their frames, before he got a grip again. "Your Highness, I apologize, I was just startled. Please come in, I will ready the bath. Breakdown!" he called over his shoulder. "The Prince and his trine are here, go fetch the products for them, will ya?."

Smiling he led the Seekers into the largest bathroom they had, Dreadwing and his trine standing behind, to guard the doors. As the warm water-solvent mix filled the large pool, Knockout began his smalltalk.

"So~ do you want to talk about it?"

"Ah, it's a long story Knockout."

Taking that as a no, Knockout nodded understandingly.  
He stopped the flow of the water, when the pool was filled and watched as the seekers gracefully slid in, happily fluttering their wings and swaying them back and forth in content.  
The Trine washed each other, rubbing small circles on their plating with the soft sponges and bathed in the pool for a long time, before they got out, to be blow dried.

Content the seekers stretched elegantly, pleased with the bath, that had even removed the smallest grit out of the narrowest seam. Knockout led them to another room, to relubricate their joints with high-quality oil and coat their plating with a fresh finish after removing the old one. Breakdown brought the wax and polish, carefully picked for each seeker and helped Knockout buff and apply them to every part of the seekers that wasn't too private to touch. Being the codpiece, wings and thrusters. Those parts where handled by the trinemates.

Every treatment in Knockouts spa came with a free cube of refined energon for the costumers. Since Stanix was home to mainly sports cars, their refined energon was good in quality.

Racing tournaments and finish contests, where many mechs would show off their extravagant finish, were common here. Something the city was famous for.  
Seekers couldn't have patterns and pictures on their frames, having to stick with only one layer of paint for every part of their frame. The extra paint would make it difficult for their wings to sense the air currents and climate changes, wingstripes being an exempt, as they acted as protective stabilizer and identifying symbol. So the paintings were something the flyers were a little jealous of. Though none of them would ever admit such a thing.

-x-

Enjoying the treatment, Starscream thought back to the events in Kaon. Or more specifically to a certain gladiator he had met there. Never before had he been so stunned by something, or someone. Surely, he had seen his fair share of things at his off world excursions with his academy partner Skyfire, but nothing came close. When his studies, journeys and findings had made him excited, Megatron had him enthralled. Violence was not something, Starscream had liked very much, especially not when gratuitous, but when it was Megatron who was fighting, he loved it. There was something to the way the gladiator champion fought. He moved with so much grace. Every step he took, every strike he landed was carefully planned in the middle of the heat of battle. Megatron fought expertly, it almost came close to the gracefulness of a flying seeker, _almost_. And being the best flyer in all of Cybertron, Starscream had all right to say that. Megatron reminded him of glory.

And he hated it. How could a _ground pounder,_ a mere _pit fighter_, have so much influence on him?! If he ever met him again, he had to show him whom of them was the superior one. He had to stun the gladiator out of his mind, his pride could not allow anything else. The gladiator surely thought of him as weak and useless, the way he had protected them all the time! And he had to prove him wrong! But he was sure he couldn't meet him so soon. He wasn't even sure if he would ever meet him again. It definitely wasn't worth the trouble of sneaking out again. His spark constricted strangely at that thought. Why did he want to meet him so much?

-x-

"Your Royal Highness? Are you alright? Your frame is radiating heat..." Knockouts concerned voice startled him from his thoughts.

"Yes, I'm fine." Starscream appeased him, waiving his hand dismissively.

After a knock on the door Dreadwing entered the room.

"The has been a message for you, your Highness. It is from Skyfire, he invites you to visit him for the science festival in Iacon."

* * *

_TBC..._

_Nothing much to say here, aside from the usual 'no it is of course not ok to hit a child, or adolescent in this case'._

_The title might be somewhat confusing, but it just had to be._

_It's a german-english wordplay. In german 'to bathe something out' means 'to pay for what one has done' and I decided to use the german wordplay because there was indeed bathing in this chapter and I thought it was funny. But that shouldn't be all to much reason to complain about, in my opinion._

_Well, anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. _

_Oh, and thank you for the reviews, it's really kind of you. _


	5. Iacons pyring eyes

The next cycle in Vos, Starscream went up to the seneschal Moondancer, during the morning court, stopping right in front of the throne.

"I wanted to apologize for the trouble I have caused." he spoke, optics turned to the floor.

"And..." He looked into Moondancers optics pleadingly "...I have a request."

Knowingly the femme smiled slightly, holding up her hand to silence the other.

"I know about the message from Skyfire. And you really don't deserve to go according to your recent behavior, Starscream."

Silently the young prince nodded, knowing well, that the seneschal had a point. He turned to walk away.

"I will make an exemption though. This one time. You may go. -" The four colored mech turned around again "-But! You will be accompanied by Dreadwing and his trine. "

Starscream hugged the surprised old femme enthusiastically, briefly fluttering his wings in joy, startling the seneschal a little with the untypical behaviour.

"Oh, thank you so much." he said, straightening his posture again, turning halfway to look at his trinemates, who were talking with the other nobles in the hall.

"If you want to be in Iacon before night cycle today you will need to start flying soon. The guards aren't as fast as you are. And don't worry about notifying the Iacon officials. I have already let Coldwind deliver the news of your arrival. So, off you go." Moondancer told him, giving him a light pat on the aft.

Ignoring the improper gesture of the seneschal, to stay in her good graces, he half-jumped down the stairs and went over to his trinemates.

"TC, Warp, prepare for flight, we're going to Iacon."

"Whoot!" Skywarp sprang into the air.

"I can't believe she is letting us go, after your stunt from last cycle."

"Believe it or not Thundercracker, but she is, so let's get going, before she changes her mind."

The royal trine walked to their shared quarters.

"Do we need anything?" Thundercracker asked, watching his trineleader, as he ignited his thrusters to float up to the top of the shelf that covered half of one wall.

"I'm taking an empty data pad with me, in case Skyfire has found something interesting."

"And if not-" Skywarp chimed in "-we can still use it to make lots of funny memories! This is going to be great!"

"I'm just glad, that it will be legal this time." The blue seeker huffed.

-x-

After they had been polished a second time they were ready and met up with Dreadwing, Skyquake and Redwing, who already waited on the main flight deck on top of the palace. The three sturdy fighter jets bowed deeply, formally greeting their maybe soon-to-be rulers.

"Are you ready for departure, your Highness?" Skyquake asked.

"We are. Contact the eastern gate and order them to open the a hole in the force field for us."

The guard complied with a 'yes, your Highness' and a bow.

Hardly being able to hold his excitement at bay, Starscream ignited his thrusters and waited for the others to fall into formation, before he transformed and took flight.

* * *

The sun was setting as the vosians arrived at their destination, transformed and landed on top of the Iacon academy complex. As soon as their thrusters clicked to the ground they where greeted by the governors of Iacon.  
The city was popular for their education system. If one wanted to study, one had to go to Iacon. Though Vos had a bigger library, with information from off-worlds, Iacon also held its fair share of scientific data pads. It also had the by far largest academy complex on all of  
cybertron. Everything was taught at the university, from architecture to chemistry. Everything one could imagine. The possibilities where almost endless. So even the vosians, who hat shut themselves off from the rest of the world long ago, occasionally went to Iacon to study there.

If studying wasn't ones intent, sightseeing was also an option here. Iacon had the highest towers of all the grounder cities, with relatively small windows compared to the ones in Vos. The buildings were clean, but not as shining and decorated as the seekers'. The true sight worth seeing, was the highway-bridge, with light pipes on its side, that spiraled, twisted and turned around, between and through the buildings, through the whole city, creating a beautiful pattern. The city was also quite safe. Enforcers patrolled the streets day and night cycle always having a watchful eye on everything that happened, so no one had to be afraid of crimes here.

"Welcome to Iacon, esteemed guests." The autobot politicians greeted bowing. "We have prepared quarters for you in the academy. I hope, everything will be to your liking."

Starscream held his wings up proudly. "Good evening, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please lead the way."

"Of course your royal Highness." A dark brown governor replied and turned, his smile changing into a displeased frown. He led the way, smiling again as soon as the seekers were able to see his faceplate. "Here we are. Please, enjoy your stay. If there is something you need, you will be able to call the room service with this comm. link number." Sending the six fliers the number, he dismissed himself.

The quarters he had brought them to were alright. Iacon had soon learned, that their flying guests liked spacious rooms, with big windows and that every seeker suffered severe claustrophobic attacks, if they felt constrained. Taking a quick look around Starscream nodded and excused himself, wanting to search for his space shuttle friend.

The vosian prince gracefully strode around in the corridors, accompanied only by Dreadwing, as his trine had decided to give him and his friend some alone time, so they could catch up on each other. After a few breems he found him in a laboratory, intently staring at a computer screen.

"Skyfire!" Starscream called, startling the soft sparked space shuttle.

With a happy smile on his face the big seeker went over to him, hugging him, wings fluttering shortly. "I'm so happy, you really came. How are things in Vos?"

A long time they talked about their latest findings, leaving out the jouney to Kaon of course.  
Skyfire told his friend about an interesting side study he was doing, during his stay in Iacon. He was studying the different kinds of ground pounders and eagerly explained what he had learned, his soft voice calming to the prince's audials. He told him, that almost all of the grounders and non-seeker fliers consumed non-refined fuel, sports cars and mechs with extreme firepower being the only exception. He also explained the difference between autobots and decepticons to Starscream's attentive audio receptors. According to Skyfires studies autobots and decepticons were different races. Autobots created dusky pink cocoons for their newsparks and were without internal weapon systems. They were also generally a more peaceful race, with only a few exceptions. Decepticons created lime green slimy cocoons for their newsparks and were equipped with internal weapons upon birth. They also seemed to be generally more aggressive. Seekers, the space shuttle explained, were a subassembly of decepticons. While grounder sparklings where born in their vehicular forms, unable to transform until they turned to younglings, seekerlets were sparked in their bipedal mode. The grounders also used coolant and cooling fans, while seekers were air-cooled. Grounders also dind't have G-fluid, which seekers inherited from their parents and later produced as a byproduct of interface and needed as soon as they matured, to give them an additional speed boost and help them to stay in their right processors.  
Skyfire had whispered the last part into Starscreams audio receptors, for the magenta liquid was an intimate subject that was only talked about on the quiet. No grounder knew about it, and the seekers wanted to keep it that way, to avoid unpleasant situations.

G-fluid was the main reason for seekers to form trines. Normally the wingmates bonded and produced the liquid, to feed a part of it to their trineleader, who had to stay a virgin by tradition, until he had also found a bondmate, to ensure the pureness of their lineage.

Every race also seemed to have their own godly relic. Like the seekers had the celestial crown, the autobots had the matrix of leadership and the decepticons the orb of power.  
Starscream eagerly copied the whole essay on his data pad, fully intent on giving it to the vosian library when he returned.

"The science fair will start in a groon. Do you want to go?" the space shuttle asked after checking his chonometer, having finished reporting his findings.

"Of course. Let me get Skywarp and Thundercracker."

-x-

For the science fair, that was held every stellarcycle the whole iaconian highway-bridge was closed to vehicular traffic. Lots of marquees had been set up, each led by a group of mechs and femmes who showed off their new inventions and discovery filled data pads. Within a few breems the streets were lively. Or crowded, from a seekers point of view. Music sounded from speakers, that were set up along the road.

The vosian group walked through the fair, talking and laughing, stopping at every marquee that interested them. Wherever they went, the grounders that recognized them bowed deeply, before walking their way again.

The governors, who had welcomed them earlier came their way and began socializing. "We are so glad, you found interest in the science fair of the iaconian academy. I hope everything is to your liking." They began, with clearly feigned friendliness, to trained audios and talked for a while about how great their city was and would like to form contacts with Vos once again. "And I hope I really do not ask too much... but I am very sure the Iaconian citizens would love to confirm the rumors of the seekers' skills with their own optics."

Starscreams wings perked up arrogantly. The grounders wanted a flight show? They would get one.  
"I think I can do you that favor. Thundercracker, Skywarp, our hosts are wishing for a little entertainment. Engage system pattern delta."

And with a smug grin, he ignited his thrusters, transformed, and shot into the air, breaking the sound barrier within a nanoklick. Thundercracker and Skywarp followed behind, falling into formation. The royal trine circled a round in the air, until all optics were set on them, before they started showing of their flying skills. They looped and rolled around in the air, turning to the setting sun, to show off their gleaming, pristine finish, before flying vertically towards the ground twirling around each other.

A wingspan away from the heads of the spectators, they veered away, flying a straight path in still flight, before flying under the bridge and rising up again continuing with daring maneuvers. The crowd was cheering loudly, fascinated by the display.  
Learning to fly in such a way took eons of practice. Even other seekers often stared in awe, when the royal trine was training their moves. To be able to fly like this, ones wings had to be extremely sensitive, so they could react to even the slightest change in the air. It also needed a lot of trust in their trinemates and the ability to fly at least mach five. Which was also a reason the seeker prince had chosen the two seekers to be his trinemates. Thundercracker and Skywarp counted to the few seekers in Vos who could reach such speeds. With his own top speed of mach six he was still a whole unit faster, but it was more than enough, since he was the only one who could reach that velocity anyway.

As they landed, ending the little show, the crowd exploded in cheers. The seekers proudly held their wings high, discounting the praises they got as exaggerations, while basking in the attention of the grounders.

It went unnoticed by them though, that a very special mech had watched their display with high interest.  
Sentinel Prime had come all the way from the cybertronian governmental building in Helex to Iacon. The Iacon officials had told him, that the seeker prince would visit the science fair.  
Not having been able to meet him during his stay at the academy to study whatever, he decided to take the chance and try once again, to convince him to open their gates to the rest of cyberton, wanting Vos to share its credits with the government of the rest of the world.

Now that he had seen the flight show... he wanted _more_.

Clenching his hands stiffly by his sides he watched the seekers from across the road, a hungry expression on his faceplates. He had to have him. And he would get him one way or another.

-x-

"Dreadwing?" Starscream addressed the guard, when they were back in their quarters. The sky outside was already dark. "I would like to stay in Iacon for a little longer, to keep Skyfires company."

He sat on a couch amidst his trinemates. Skywarp recharging on his shoulder. "Make a call to Cloudwing to confirm the allowance."

The sturdy guard nodded and obliged. A few Vorns ago the royal trine had been staying under the protection of the iaconian academy to study a wide span of learning fields. Nothing had happened to them then, so the seneschal had given her approval for the stay, limiting it to three cycles.

"Star, I have a bad feeling about this, we should keep the guards here."

"No, let them return to Vos, TC. We'll be fine, don't worry."

* * *

_TBC..._

_My explanation of the different races is my own view of the story and not facts given by the actual stories._

_I hope you do not mind all to much, but I tried to find reasons for all of it and it just seemed logical to me._

_As for, why shoud there be only one relic? Why should Seekers have coolant, when the air is freezing up there and jets here on earth are also air-cooled and so on..._

_I am also bending the cities to my liking, as I need to for the story._

_As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter._


	6. Deceptive Autobot

The sweet smell of refined energon, softly awoke Starscream from his recharge. For a moment he enjoyed how the frames of his trusted trinemates warmed his own. It was always nice to recharge together, even if it was on a couch.

Skywarp yawned next to him, rubbing his optics and onlining them.

"Hmm? Where are we? ...This's not a berth.."

"We are still in Skyfires quarters. And you were the one who fell asleep on my shoulder making us recharge on a couch." The four colored seeker said with a soft laugh.

"Good morning you three, have you recharged well?" Skyfire asked, setting three cubes of energon on the table before them.

"Better than I would have anticipated." Starscream looked around "... I don't see Dreadwing and his tine."

"They have departed about two groons ago. They said they didn't want to be late for work." Skyfire gently removed the tarp he had draped over the three seekers, seeing that Thundercracker had also awoken.

"Ugh, I think I haven't recharged that long in vorns..." he muttered, gladly taking the energon cube that was handed to him.

"Relax, we don't have a schedule for the next three cycles, there is no need for haste." The big seeker smiled at the right Wing of his friend.

-x-

After they had refueled, they sat in the living room for a while, talking about each and everything that came to their minds. They opened the windows and took a quick flight before washing each other in the slightly cramped shower room.

Being dry again, they regretted not bringing some vosian polish with them; that grounder stuff simply didn't cut it. Well, it would be bearable for three cycles.  
Ready for the day, the group left Skyfires quarters, having decided to take a tour around the campus, to watch the study groups doing their work. While they walked trough the corridors, students and teachers greeted them with deep bows, some hoping to gain their favor in doing so.

"Please forgive my rudeness," a small green autobot student began shyly "but could you help me with my experiment? My lab-partners are not feeling well today and I can't do it alone. Please?"

Shrugging and nodding to each other, the seeker group silently resolved to give in to the cars' bidding.

"Alright, we will help you." Starscream spoke, with a slightly arrogant expression on his faceplate.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" the young mech smiled happily. "Please follow me. We are experimenting on an alternative light source, using a chemical reaction between pratium, lussurium, and an off-world element my family traded with a seeker. It's called phosphor.-" he enthusiastically explained "-and if everything goes as planned, it will keep on glowing brightly once it is activated, without the need of any power source. We could save a lot of energon!"

The idea didn't sound that bad, it was worth a try. Having arrived in one of the academy's laboratories, they started to prepare the substances, when the green mech suddenly called out.

"Oh, no! The pressure generator! It's broken!" he covered his face with his hands and pointed at the smoking machine in front of him. "I just activated it. How could this have happened? Now I will never get my reports done before the deadline."

"Calm down." Thundercracker said, walking over to the student. "Are there other pressure generators in the house?"

Shaking his head, the autobot replied "Not at this time. All of them are in use."

"I think I can fix it. Fetch me some new cables and a carbon plate."

The grounder nodded eagerly and went to get the things, thanking Thundercracker every now and then.  
Meanwhile Skywarp had fallen into recharge on a chair again, while Starscream and Skyfire talked about some space explorations they had been on together.

"... and that strange organic planet.. Earth was it? We really should go there again. We didn't even take a souvenir!" Starscream suggested.

"Yes, I would be glad to journey with you again. It would be the perfect opportunity for us to pro-"

"AARGH!"

A yellow stream of liquid had shot from the machine Thundercracker had been working on.

"I told - you not - to test it - yet!" The blue seeker exclaimed between coughs.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" The green car whined, coolant streaming down from his optics."I didn't think they would react without lussurium. Oh, primus I'm so sorry. I -"

"You let pratium and phosphor react under preassure?! Are you insane?! That stuff is highly unstable and acid!" The seeker Prince screeched enraged. He sprinted over to his injured trinemate. "TC, are you alright?"

"I swallowed some of it. And it's burning my intakes." He explained relatively calm.

"We should take him to the infirmary right away." Skyfire said, waking over to the others.

"No, it's alright. I wasn't hit by too much. I should be fine." Thundercracker appeased, giving a start, when a loud _clang_ echoed through the room.

"If TC is in danger because of you, I will rip out your spark, you stupid-"

"Skywarp! Let go of him!" Starscream pulled his left wing back. "You can't just hit others like that. Calm down. It was an accident. And you.-" He addressed the crying mech. "-go fetch a medic."

In the corridors, the green student slowed his pace and activated his comm. link. /Prime? This is Sharpdrift. The plan has failed. I have only gotten one of the seekers. The blue one./

/It doesn't matter. I will still get what I want. Good job, soldier./

-x-

Skyfire had carried the injured seeker back to his quarters and laid him on his berth.

"So, the medics reallly said they couldn't do anything? How useless are they?! We should bring him to the Iaconian hospital? I don't trust these slaggers!" Skywarp cried out, clinging to Thundercracker for dear life.

Coughing briefly, the blue seeker smiled and weakly stroked the purple seekers cheek, trying to calm his trinemate. "It's not like I'm going to die."

A knock on the door stopped the conversation.

"Come in." Skyfire called, turning to the door.

An academy servant came into view. "Excuse me. There has been a call from the Prime. He would like to meet the vosian prince and invites his Highness and his trine to the iaconian banquet hall at 21.03. this night cycle."

Starscream sighed, considering the offer. "Send the Prime my regards and tell him that I will not be able to come. My trinemate is not feeling well and I do not wish to leave his side." he told the servant.

A cool hand touched his side. "No, Star. You should go. Don't worry about me. The Prime is one of the governors of cyberton. He will have a good reason for wanting to meet you. You should hear him out." Thundercracker whispered, with a grating in his voice.

The prince stroked his right Wing's cockpit. "Ok. I will be back by this cycle. Warp, Skyfire, please take care of him." turning back to the servant, he continued with a heavy sigh, "tell the Prime, I am honored by his invitation and will come to meet him at the desired time."

* * *

This would be going down smoothly. A dark grin crept on Sentinels faceplate. The vosian prince would come to meet him. All alone. It would probably be a lot easier than he had imagined. He actually had planned to have his green servant poison all the seekers, so he could offer to call in his personal medics, slowly winning the trust of the fliers. But this situation... was downright perfect. If things would go as planned, he would hold the price for his work in his servos by the next cycle. All he had to do was wait in his seat in the banquet hall.

* * *

Starscream checked his chronometer. Fifteen breems left until the meeting. He had downloaded a map of Iacon from the academies database. 'It would be better if I arrive a little bit early.' he thought, standing up from the chair he had set beside the berth Thundercracker was lying on. "I'll be off now."

The young seeker stepped out of the academy doors. The sky was already dark and a cool wind roared through the city. A shudder ran through the prince's frame. He started to walk into the direction of the meeting place, wings forming an horizontal line from the strange nervous tenseness he felt. The Iaconian roads were illuminated brightly. Many mechs were still roaming the streets. It was noisy. And it was crowded. Starscream felt unwell. To shorten his path and get away from the masses, he decided to take the side routes against his better judgement.

The sideway he was walking through right now was unpleasant at best. There were walls of buildings on every side of the narrow street. It was ridiculously cramped, really. His wingtips nearly scraped at the walls to his sides. It was also eerily quiet. The only sound he heard was the echo of his thrusters clicking on the metal road. 'Maybe TC had been right. We should have kept the guards here.' He thought, fright slowly creeping up his systems. Wishing he had stayed on the main roads, Starscream continued to walk down the dark streets, when a strange rustling sound startled him.

"Who's there?!" He yelled, turning around, trying not to show how anxious he was. Nothing was there, so the prince shook his head and walked on. He must have been imagining things. Suddenly, a strong arm wrung around his waist from behind. The seeker wanted to scream, but only a muffled screech escaped his voice box, as a hand was clamped on his mouth. Starscream started to thrash around, trying to dislodge his attacker. A sharp, thin object stung into his neck cables. The seeker started to scream and scratch the arm around his waist, until he slowly felt the world around him go dark.

* * *

The red-gold-black prime silently sat at his table in the banquet hall, checking his chronometer every now and then. A requesting ping sounded from his comm. link.

/Prime? Huskspawn here. The Object is being transported to your mansion in Helex right now. We sent it with a strong sedative. There should be no problems with the delivery, a safe subway transport will carry the package. So, please don't worry about health problems, sire./

/Thank you, Huskspawn./ While keeping calm and composed on the outside, Sentinel Prime was grinning and laughing madly on the inside. His plan had succeeded. The vosian prince was being safely transported to his mansion right now and nobody knew about it. Even if they found out that the seeker was kidnaped, there was no way they would blame him. He had been quietly waiting here the whole time. And if somebody had heard his comm. link call in the banquet hall, it wouldn't be a problem either. After all, he had just gotten informed about the safe transport of his '_medicine for his injuries_', nothing more.  
He demonstratively exvented, checking his chronometer again. It was 22.18. time to make his call. The Prime pinged the main comm. link of the academy. When an employee answered the call, he asked to be put through to the royal trine. After some klicks he got pinged back.

/Sentinel Prime? Here is Skyfire. What seems to be the problem, sir?/ A soft voice rang through his internal communication system.

/I called because I had been given the assurance of the prince's coming. Yet there is no sign of him. Is he still with you? I am worried./

A few klicks passed before he was answered again.

/No, he has left to meet you about two groons ago. Are you sure he is not in the banquet hall?/

/Yes. I am certain. Could you try pinging his comm. link? Maybe he has gotten lost in the streets. Iacon is a big, contorted city after all./

/We will try, please wait a moment./

* * *

Skyfire was sick with worry. He restlessly paced around in the living room of his quarters. Sarscream wasn't answering his comm. link. Even after 45 tries, he still wouldn't respond. What would he do now?

"'Sky? What's wrong?" Skywarp asked him sleepily, leaning against the frame of the opened door to his berth chamber.

"... The Prime just called. Starscream still hasn't arrived at the banquet hall. ... and he isn't responding to my calls. I have a really bad feeling about this."

The black-purple-white seeker looked at him with concerned optics. "... doesn't Iacon have some sort of military, who could look for him?"

"Right! Enforcers! I will call them right away. ... How is Thundercracker doing?"

The normaly cheery seeker looked gloomily to the ground. "Dunno. He's recharging. But his frame is burning hot and his intakes sound all weird... Do you think he's going to be ok?"

After Skyfire had made his call to the enforcers of Iacon, he went over to the blue seeker, who lay on his berth. "He really doesn't look well. We should bring him to a medic... But the grounders know nothing about seekers..." The flustered space shuttle looked at the left Wing, "We need to take him back to Vos."

"But what about Star?!" Skywarp shouted enraged and confused.

"I know... I... Skywarp? Please call the seneschal."

/Seneschal Moondancer? Skywarp here./

/What happened?/

/Star has gone missing, and TC is not feeling well. And we don't know what to do. The stupid grounders can't handle fliers, but TC is really sick. But Star is gone and we don't know where he is. He wanted to meet up with some prime and now he is missing. But TC... and Star doesn't answer his comm. and.. help.../ The left Wing blabbered into the comm. link, almost sobbing between his broken sentences.

/I see. Is Skyfire with you?/ The old femme asked with a strain in her voice.

/Yea.../

/Tell him to carry Thundercracker in his subspace. Return to Vos immediately. Have you informed the iaconian enforcers of the situation?/

/Skyfire did, I think.../ Skywarp hitched a sob.

/Good. I will sent a military unit to Iacon to search for Starscream, if the enforcers haven't found him by morning of the next cycle./

-x-

Dead-aim shook his head, with closed optics. "I can't find him seneschal."

The aged seeker clawed her talons into the throne she sat on. "How can this be? This is not a good sign. Something must have happened. Unicron, please let him be safe."

-x-

The wind had gotten harsher in Iacon and no moon illuminated the skies that night cycle. Carefully Skywarp positioned his trinemate in the internal space of Skyfires vehicular mode.

"Do you think this will be allright?" He asked in a faint whisper.

"As long as he stays in recharge he shouldn't get a claustrophobic attack." The space shuttle tried to calm the other. "And If you meant Starscream... I don't know. But he will return to us for sure... He always returns."

* * *

_TBC..._

_Yes, yes I know that there are no elements called lussurium and prassium, but hey, maybe there are on a different planet?_

_I mean in the Transformers series they talk about cybernucleic acid instead of deoxyribonucleic acid and cyertanium, so I thought it would be ok to cook up some new elements. _

_As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter._


	7. Unpleasant awakening

With dull buzz in his processors Starscream slowly awoke. Still being very sleepy, he turned around on the berth.

He lay down on his left side, letting his wings brush together, refusing to online his optics. The thermic tarp, that was draped over him felt good against his somewhat numb frame. Slowly, the prince rubbed the surface of the berth, to feel the alien fabric, he had the servants mount to his berth.

Only to feel that it wasn't there. This wasn't his berth. Right, they had visited Skyfire in Iacon.

Lazily he onlined his optics. Before him, he saw a wall, sprayed with golden paint.

This wasn't the academy either.

Starscream shot up into a sitting position, fully awake now.

"TC? Warp?... Skyfire?" The seeker called, looking around in the room.

'What in Unicrons name happened?' he asked himself, before remembering the previous night cycle. He had been attacked.

Panicking he sprung up onto his thrusters, walked across the room and slapped the door panel on the wall. To his surprise the gate actually swished open. Not wasting any time the prince strode around the corner, crashing into somebody, knocking both of them to the floor.

"Oh I'm so sorry, please forgive my ineptitude, your royal Highness."

Before him was a white-black servant femme, who started picking up an now empty cube of energon and the tray she had been carrying. Confused Starscream remained sitting on the floor, staring at the maid, who started to clean the energon she had spilled, until an unfamiliar voice drew him out of his daze.

"Prince Starscream! Are you alright?" A sturdy, but not chunky mech, with red and golden paint offered a hand to him, his voice low and calm.

Out of habit, he accepted the other's help and let himself be pulled back onto his thrusters.

"I apologize for the clumsiness of my servant. Softspin, fetch a new cube for our guest, please."

The maid bowed with a quiet 'yes, sir' and went to do as she was told.

"You have been attacked by some criminals last night. When I found you and stepped in, to rescue you, you were already in stasis. I took the liberty to take you back to my mansion in Iacon, so no further harm would befall you. Don't worry about your companions. My servants have already informed them."

Straitening his posture, Starscream responded.

"Thank you for your assistance and hospitality, Sentinel Prime, but my trinemate is feeling unwell. I wish to return to them."

The Primes eyes darkened a bit.

"I insist you stay until you have recovered from the attack. My personal medic will come by this afternoon to examine you. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you because of my carelessness. Please, do me the favor and stay a while, your Highness. I am sure your Trinemate is taken good care of."

Starscream hesitated a moment and sighed.

"A joor won't hurt I guess. Thank you again for saving me."

The mech before him smiled.

"You are very welcome. How would you like a tour around the house, after a cube of energon?"

-x-

Primes' mansion wasn't that bad, Starscream thought. It's rooms were rather spacious and had a high ceiling compared to the academy's dorms in Iacon. The golden paint he had seen, when he had woken up, seemed to be coating the whole building. Opposing to everything the prince had seen on his journey to Kaon, everything was clean here and even slightly polished. There were small decorations on the doorframes. Some statues and paintings also garnished the halls and corridors. The windows were relatively large, though it bothered Starscream a little, that none of them were open.

A large art-gallery garden surrounded the building. Starscream looked at some of the showpieces through the windows, as they walked by. The medic also seemed to be living here in this mansion, as there were quarters, a medical bay and even a laboratory for him. Apart form him, only Sentinel Prime and about eight servants seemed to be resident here.

It was quite nice. But still... there was a strange bad feeling, refusing to leave his systems.

* * *

A trine of palace guards already waited for their arrival, as Skywarp and Skyfire landed on the main flight deck of the vosian palace, the latter in his vehicular form. They carefully took Thundercracker out of the shuttle's internal space and carried him to the medical bay right away, the other seekers following one wingspan behind.

"Will he be okay?" The left Wing asked, looking at the medic with hopeful optics.

Hazeglide only shoved him out of his way gently.

"I can tell you as soon as I have examined him. Until then, out. All of you. I need to concentrate."

"But-"

"Out." The snow-white stealth jet voiced sternly, pointing at the door to the waiting room.

About four groons had passed, before Skywarp was called back into the examination room. Skyfire had been summoned to the throne room, to meet the seneschal.

"So?" Skywarp asked in a worried tone, "is he going to be alright again?"

The stealth jet nodded, a strained expression on his faceplate.

"He will, but it will take a decacycle at least. Thundercrackers intakes and parts of his main fuel-line will have to be exchanged. Luckily his tank and spark are unharmed, as are his other organs. He will need a lot of rest. I have stabilized and put him into stasis for now. Please don't worry all to much. As soon as the parts have been replaced, he will be back to his full health. By the way..." Hazeglide said, with a confused frown. "Where is his royal Highness?"

-x-

"I am sorry seneschal Moondancer. I know nothing else- There... I have just gotten a comm. link request from the iaconian enforcers." Skyfire knelt just before the stairs, that led up to the throne, trying to explain the situation to the vosian ruler.

"Accept them then." The old femme snapped, agitated from the worry that crept through her systems, "and tell me what they have found."

A few klicks passed.

"Are you certain? ... Okay. Thank you." The space shuttle wore a sullen expression. "The enforcers couldn't find him. Apparently his last sighting was at the academy doors, when he left. There has been no sign of him since then."

Silently demanding the outcome of her previous request, the seneschal glanced at her left trinemate.

Dead-aim only shook his head. "I am still unable to pick up his signal, seneschal."

"I see."

With a tense voice, she ordered Skyfire to fly to the military academy's main complex in Vos' eastern airspace, to deliver her command to commander Firestorm. She would have him search the whole area of and around Iacon, with an armada of soldiers. If it was the last thing she would do, Moondancer would find out, where the prince was.  
When the Queen had entrusted her with the position of the seneschal, because of her departure to outer space, with her bondmate, she had wanted to decline at first. She had been already old then and did not feel ready to rule a city. Also, Moondancer had wanted her friend to stay, and tried to persuade her to stray from the path, the young queen had already taken without her consent. The seneschal shook her head, thinking back at the day her friend had left her city behind.

It was pure insanity. She had bonded with a god. Bonded with Unicron himself. And they had a sparkling together. Thanks to the seeker's ancient relic the celestial crown, the sparkling that was born had been a seekerlet. Normally a seekerlet would only emerge, if two seekers interfaced, while merging their sparks. If one of the partners was from another race, no seeker could be born from them, which had been the primary reason for Vos' decision to isolate themselves from the rest of cyberton.

The celestial crown, that was inherited instead of transferred, like the other relics, ensured that no matter of what build the bondmate was, a seekerlet would be sparked. Vos' adventurous and sometimes irresponsible, but good and gifted, skillful queen had left her with the position of the seneschal and her sparkling to take care of and raise. Sometimes Moondancer was angry about her friends decision to leave her city and newspark behind. But she couldn't deny, that it was for the best. No one but her knew about her bond with the cybertronian god, and no one should ever find out.

It was for the best, she silently repeated to herself. And the queen hadn't left Vos without hope or reason. With her departure she had secured a distant planet, they could retreat to, if things ever got too dangerous on cybertron and she had produced an heir. An heir the seneschal needed to care for, an heir that had sadly inherited too many bad traits from his carrier. The prince would be Vos' new king. And he was the only thing she had left, that reminded her of her friend. She had to find Starscream. No matter what.

* * *

"Your Highness, this is my medic, Siren."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, prince Starscream. I hope my belatedness did not trouble you too much."

The sun was already about to set. About two groons ago, the drowsiness, that had plagued Starscream earlier, had finally left his systems. Sentinel prime had shown him around in his mansion, and had given him refined energon, of good quality, to refuel himself. He had also told him about Skyfires call, informing him, that Thundercracker was feeling better now. It calmed the prince's processors to know, that his trinemates were well and waiting for him in the academy of Iacon.

"Why is my comm. link inactive?" He asked the medic, after greeting him formally.

"From what Sentinel Prime has told me, you have been given a strong sedative by your attacker. If that is the case, it is absolutely normal, that your comm. link system is out of commission, your Highness. If you rest enough, it will be online again by the next cycle. Now please follow me to my med. bay, so I can examine you."

Starscream sat on the side of the berth in the small medical bay with crossed legs, looking up to Siren.

"Please make haste with the examination. I wish to return to my trine as soon as possible."

A cold laugh from the prime made the seeker shift his focus.

"Actually," The sturdy mech began, "you won't be returning to them ever again."

Before the prince could fully process the words of the governor, he was roughly gripped by the neck and yanked closer to the frame on his right. Starscream yelped in surprise and tried to dislodge the offending hand, but it wouldn't budge.

"I have taken a great risk in getting you here and now that I have you. I will never let you go again. From now on, you are mine." Sentinels voice was laced with sick desire. "And don't expect anyone to come to your rescue. I had my minions transport you to my mansion in Helex, while waiting for you in the iaconian banquet hall. Those fools have no idea what happened to you."

"Let me go! Let me go you brute! -AH! What are you-?!"

The medic had suddenly lifted his thrusters, startling the seeker. To ensure that Starscream couldn't cause any harm, the prime had caught both of his wrists in one hand, while holding him still by his neck with the other. With a sickening grin Siren took hold of his left thruster and began installing something into it. He carelessly poked around in his intimate appendage, completely ignoring his hisses and cursing. As soon as the medic was done with the left, he did the same to the right thruster.

Whenever Starscream began to resist and shout, Sentinel would give him a violent shake, gripping down harshly in his neck telling him to be quiet. After a breem, that had seemed like an eterity to the violated seeker, the poking stopped and Siren stood up again, a mad smile distorting his faceplate.

"I have installed a capsule of highly concetrated energon inside your thrusters. They have a device on them, that will spark electricity if touched the wrong way. So if you try to remove them by force, or ignite your thrusters to fly away, you will get blown to scrap. Your comm. link and radar system have also been disabled by me. I am sorry your Highness... but there is no escape. You are staying here. As long as the Prime wants you."

Mildly stated, Starscream was furious. How could he have been tricked so easily?! He should have flown away on the first opportunity! Now he was stuck in the clutches of an autobot grounder, for Primus knows how long it would take for somebody to find him!

The only consolation he could find, was that he had been promised to be treaded according to his status, as long as he accepted, that Sentinel was his superior. Until he had found a way out of here, the prince would play the prime's little game, he decided. Trying to fight him, would do him no good. If he couldn't fly, he would not be able to escape. The only thing he could do, was to try and make his forced stay here as bearable as possible. But, that didn't mean Starscream would play the obedient pet for his captor. The seeker didn't dream of it! No. There was no way, he would lay down his pretty wings for anyone, especially not for a ground pounder. The prince of Vos would never bow. And he had been trained by Coldwind in social skills more than enough, to know how to fulfill the wish of the prime, without subjecting himself to him. Even if his plan should be his downfall, Starscream would never bend to the will of Sentinel Prime. Even if he would likely be treated as a hostage, it was only a matter of time until Vos would find him. His communications link may have been disabled, but Skywarp and Thundercracker would be able to sense his distress through the trinebond. Just as he sensed theirs right now. He had to go back as soon as he could. His right Wing was damaged, and Skywarp was grieving. Skyfire was surely worried about him too... and Cloudwing must be furious by now...

"You will regret this Sentinel Prime." He hissed out menacingly.

The cybertronian governor only smiled coldly at his remark, still holding him by his neck.

"We'll see."

* * *

_TBC..._

_As I said, everything in this story will be bent to my will._

_I'm only trying to find a reason to unanswered questions. _

_I also wanted to state that I don't see Unicron as the 'ultimate evil' and Primus as the 'ultimate good', but rather of two halves of the same spark._

_They will also not be the planets themselves in this story, as I don't see, why Primus would allow his inhabitants to wage war on him, without doing a thing._

_It just doesn't seem logical. _

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter._


	8. Difficult guest

He had known it. He had known it from the start. Cloudwing activated his internal weapons and shot a few times into the air. It had been a bad Idea to let Starscream stay in Iacon. Grounders were simply no good company for a seeker. They were brutish and inelegant and many of them were criminals.

The royal advisors processor reeled. When he had matured, his mother had given him the task to look after the prince for her, so she could focus on ruling Vos. The princelet had been a small youngling then and his processor was already stuffed full of mischief. One klick of averting ones optics could be enough, to be forced to sprint or fly after the little runt, because he had somehow managed to put himself or others at risk.

One time when he was still very small, he had nearly caused a huge explosion on the market platform, trying to ignite his thrusters next to a stack of energon cubes. A warm bitter-sweet feeling flooded Cloudwings systems. He had really come to like Starscream and almost saw him as his own. Now, he was lost. The fact, that even Dead-aim couldn't find him, was not a good sign at all. Somebody must have done something to him. And Primus have mercy with the mech, when he found out who.  
Not wanting to waste any time, the advisor leapt out of an open window, transforming and shooting off into the direction of the war facility.

"Firestorm?! Are you there?!" Cloudwing yelled, but only a space shuttle came to greet him.

"Greetings, advisor Cloudwing. Commander Firestorm has already left Vos with an armada, to search for prince Starscream in Iacon."

The red-white seeker sighed and nodded.

-x-x-

Prowl looked up into the sky. He had been transferred from his hometown Tarn, the autobot capital city, to Iacon a decacycle ago. The mech had seen many things over the vorns in his enforcer job. But this. Was definitely. **Not** normal. He had not been notified about this. The Datsun's frown worsened tenfold as he shouted through the main enforcer communications link.

"What is going on here?! I heard that the vosian prince is missing, and I expected an ambassador from Vos, but why in Primus' name did nobody bother to tell me, that there is a whole fragging **SQUADRON** of **ARMED** seekers practically **INVADING** the airspace?!" Prowl gave off a warning shot into the air.

At that, the seeker who was leading the others, came straight towards him, transforming and landing, comming the others to initiate a close range search of the whole city.

"I am Commander Firestorm, leader of the Vosian military. Please do not worry about the safety of the citizens. It is not out intention to cause harm. I assume you are the captain of the enforcer group?"

The black-red winged mech addressed him, his posture radiating as much professionalism as his own.

"Yes. I am Prowl, head of the cybertronian enforcers. I understand your city's demise, but please inform us about your visit next time. My men are also searching for the prince right now. I suggest we keep constant radio contact. If there is any way we can help you, don't hesitate to ask."

-x-x-

Sentinel Prime definitely liked the new addition to his art collection. The seeker prince was a feast for the optics. If only he could get him to behave according to his will, it would be perfect.

"I may not know about vosian culture, but please refrain from walking around in the middle of the night cycle from now on. It is custom of the rest of cybertron, to use the dark groons to get some recharge."

If something like this could already annoy the prime, Starscream would have a good time here, this could actually be fun.

"I am very sorry for the inconvenience I have caused. We seekers tend to roam the night cycles to look at the movements of the moon."

Socializing was great. You could tell stories only the greatest fool would believe and your interlocutor was forced to feign interest and credulity, while always staying courteous. And the best thing was, Sentinel Prime actually played his part and made sure, that he was treated like a prince. This would be fun indeed.

"I see. I was not aware of that." Sentinel answered with a strained voice " However, as far as I know, seekers like to be outside a lot, am I right? My mansion has a balcony. We will consume our morning energon on it. The maids have already brought it there. Please, come with me prince Starscream."

To him, it almost seemed like the governor wanted to gain his favor. Which he probably did. Although the abduction had done him nothing good, he was now treated like an honoured guest. Apart from the fact that he was being held captive and had explosives stuck in his thrusters.

The balcony he had been led to, was relatively big and a decorated fence surrounded it. The ground was unfamiliarly thick, but that didn't bother the seeker too much. Starscreams long wings moved up slightly as the morning breeze caressed their sensitive plating. It was always a nice feeling. He sat down at the table, that stood in the middle of the balcony and looked across it at the prime with a mock-gentle smile.

"Please tell me about the rest of cyberton Prime, I have only been to Iacon before. I am very curious. Your culture is very interesting and so different from ours. You would do me a great favor in telling me about it."

The governor held his typical stern expression.

"There is no need to make haste. You will have plenty of time to learn about our culture and cities. I have a small library, which also contains datapads with information about every cybertronian city except from Vos. Feel free to read them if you should get bored."

So the Prime would tell him nothing. What a pity. Gracefully Starscream emptied his cubic glass of energon, the rich cybertronian grounders usually drank from, and stood up from his seat. With slow steps he walked over to the railing, placed the glass on it and shoved it off with an elegant flick of his wrist. When Sentinel asked for the reason of his action, he put it off as a vosian custom, too; elated by the others' displeased facial expression.

After they had both refueled, he had successfully driven his captor into believing him, that seekers, if they could not take a flight, needed a long walk every cycle, to ensure their health. While seekers really had a strong drive to fly and even got depressive after a stellar cycle without it, a walk was unnecessary, but it was fun to pretend.

During the whole surprisingly enjoyable walk around the mansion and the art-gallery garden, the four colored seeker had set an excruciatingly slow pace, making sure to click his thrusters with every step he took. With his wings held up high, and an arrogant, proud posture he strutted around always a wingspan before the prime, swaying his hips out of habit and delight.

Some of the artworks in the yard where actually quite beautiful. As much as he disliked the red-golden mech, he had to admit, his taste was good. He stopped before an extremely expensive looking statue. After inspecting it for a while, he rammed his talons into its top and drew them down to its base, creating a horrible screeching noise. The look on Sentinel's faceplate was priceless.

"Might I ask what this was about?" he inquired obviously fighting to keep his cool.

"I was sharpening my claws, of course." Starscream stated making it look like it was the most normal thing to him.

"And why did you use my statue for that?"

"Well it was obviously the best choice, since it was made of wolfram. And everyone knows that wolfram is the best material to sharpen ones talons."

Prime exvented heavily, making no further comment.  
Once they were back inside the mansion, the adolescent prince decided, that it was time for a bath. He hadn't washed in two cycles; the utter horror. With a friendly smile he ordered a servant to bring him to the wash hall and started to complain loudly as soon as he was there.

"This room is a little bit too small for my liking. It should have more windows, too. And what is with this solvent container? This is nearly savage. In Vos there are different kinds of solvents to choose from and they are directly guided to the showers and mixed with the water. The blow dryer is too strong, I don't like it. There are no waxes here at all."

The prince bickered, looking around the room with an exaggerated disgusted expression. He took hold of a can and inspected it skeptically.

"At least the polish is of decent quality."

The poor black-white maid beside him bowed and apologized. She looked flustered.

"Oh I am so sorry your royal Highness. I will go and order maintenance products from stanix right away. They are the best products we have here on cyberton. I hope they will be to your liking."

"I am familiar with the stanixian products. They will do well." Starscream dismissed the servant with a wave of his hand and activated the shower.

He missed his trinemates. There was still a wave of distress flowing through their trinebond. Thundercrackers signal was very faint, while Skywarp seemed to be untypically sorrowful. It was difficult for any vosian to be without trine. Seekers didn't _do_ lonely. They just didn't. How was he supposed to clean and polish his wings now? The shower seemed to be taking care of the cleaning problem well enough, but the polishing was difficult. He would most likely scratch himself if he tried to do it alone. Sighing heavily he called for the maids again.

"I need you to polish my wings and back. But be careful. Wings are extremely sensitive."

The servants did as they were told. With his trinemates, the washing sessions in Stanix were always enjoyable. Now... it was unpleasant. Wings were a private part of a seekers frame and normally only the own trine and bondmate were allowed to touch them. But he didn't have another choice. Thundercracker and Skywarp were not here. He already missed them so much...

-x-x-

"TC? Are you awake?"

Skywarp didn't like to worry; at all. But he did. It weighed down his wings like and acid rainstorm, that Starscream was still missing without a sign. A whole cycle had passed already. At least he wasn't offline, that he could sense through their trinebond. And Thundercracker was still in stasis. Hazeglide had replaced and repaired his intakes and damaged fuel lines as expertly as ever. Now he only needed to rest and recharge, to recover from the operation.

The white stealth jet had said it would take about a decacycle. Skywarp didn't know what to do without his trinemates. He hadn't left the med. bay since he arrived back in Vos and he was refusing to. TC needed him, and he would be there. Sometimes Skyfire came down, to talk to him and ask about the blue seekers condition. The palace servants brought him energon and Coldwind came by, to give him datapads he would not read. -He meant, datapads he would of course read, because he still needed to learn, for education was important regardless of the situation.- not.

The black-purple-white seeker failed to repress a sob. Climbing onto the wide medical berth Thundercracker was lying on, he hugged him with utmost care. He laid his head on his trinemates' cockpit and snuggled up to him, staying away from his wings completely, to not hurt the already damaged seeker further. Right now, he really needed the vicinity of the other more than ever. Slightly comforted by the sound of the steadily beating spark of his soon-to-be bondmate Skywarp lay where he was and watched the sun set and the sky slowly go dark. The stars didn't shine as brightly today...

"TC, I have an Idea."The royal trines' left Wing stated suddenly, propping himself up onto his elbows with a determined expression on his faceplate.

-x-x-

Meanwhile in Helex, Starscream had walked out into the now illuminated gardens in an unobserved moment, to actually watch the moon, to annoy his abductor and for the lack of anything better to do with his time. A few dark clouds hung in the sky, but the cool night breeze was somewhat comforting against his wings.

"Come inside, your Highness." He heard the primes earnest voice from afar.

"No, I have to watch the moon." The prince lied at his captor, trying to sound serious.

Prime walked over to him and firmly took him by the wrist.

"What are you doing?!-"

"-Enough is enough, seeker! I have let you play your little games the whole cycle, but my patience isn't endless. You're coming inside with me at once."

Sentinel prime drew him along, into the third and upper floor of his mansion, to a relatively large door. After he had entered a code into the door panel it opened and Starscream was shoved inside by his waist. The Prime never let go of his wrist. Warily the prince looked around in the large, decorated room.

"This is not the chamber I woke up in."

"No. These are my private quarters. You will be recharging with me tonight, so I can have an optic on you."

Alarmed by the words, the seeker turned around and tried to get out of the governors grip.

"You can't possibly be serious! I refuse to recharge by your side. Let me go this instant!" He yelled, tugging at his captured arm.

"Resistance is futile. Your weapons are deactivated. And my berth is more than big enough for the two of us." The brittle voice of Sentinel rang through his audios.

"There is no way I'm going to-!"

"-I have enough of your complaining. Move it."

Starscream was dragged to the direction of the berth. He dug the heels of his thrusters into the ground, making light scratches on the floor. With an annoyed sigh and a cold expression, Sentinel Prime turned around and hoisted him up into his arms. Ignoring the princes' resistance, the grounder carried him over to his berth and laid him down on his cockpit.

"You can't do this with me!"

"You will not be harmed, so be quiet already."

The sturdy mech ordered coldly, grabbing his neck. He held him still, while he lay down next to him, flipping him over to his side, so he was facing the other.

"Now listen closely prince. You will behave from now on or there will be consequences; and I can assure you, that you will not like them. I have a servant in the iaconian academy. A small green mech, I believe you have already met him. He has been stationed there to study the behavior of the seekers that visit Iacon from time to time. By him, I have been briefed on how to properly punish a seeker. You are a pretty peculiar and secretive race I have to say. In all the vorns that is the only thing Sharpdrift has picked up, while eavesdropping, trying to get information about you vosians. And even that was only by luck. But now, I have you to study."

Sentinel Prime let go of his neck, to wrap his arms around his waist, drawing him unpleasantly close.

"I will never let you go again. You are mine now."

-x-x-

TBC...


	9. Seeking help

Moondancer sighed aggrieved. She looked out of an open window in the throne room, up into the sky.

"Mother, have you heard anything from Firestorm?" Cloudwing came to her side, briefly touching her cockpit to calm her.

"No, son. I haven't. Well I have, though he did not find out anything about Starscream. But actually, that told me more about his abduction, than any evidence could have."

The royal advisor looked at her, confused.

"Abduction? What do you mean?"

With a humorless laugh, the seneschal continued.

"Do you not think, that it is rather strange? Starscream goes to Iacon, the grounder city with the highest security in all of cybertron, yet still he manages to get lost without a trace, regardless of how flamboyant he is in comparison to them? And on the same day our prince's arrival was scheduled, Sentinel Prime, one of the grounder's highest governors decides to visit the city, for apparently no reason, asks to meet him and silently returns to his hometown the same night cycle Starscream disappears."

"You mean-?"

"-We have no evidence. Right now, we can't do anything. Accusing the bearer of the Matrix of Leadership without any allegeable reason of such a crime could be seen as an attack. It is too much of a risk."

Cloudwing looked at Moondancer with a disbelieving expression.

"So you say we should just flap our wings and wait? Wait and do nothing while Starscream could be in danger?!"

"Calm down. We will take flight once we can prove Sentinels actions."

"Well I'll be flying to Helex right now."

And with that said, the royal advisor jumped out of the window, transformed and flew away, not heeding the calls and orders of his mother to come back.

* * *

Skywarp was so glad he had persuaded the others into going with him to their little forbidden journey a decacycle ago. It was his only hope right now. After he had excused himself to Thundercracker, who still lay in stasis, and promised to come back no matter what and bring their trineleader with him, he had teleported to Kaon. Once he was there, he walked straight over to the gladiatorial arena and grabbed the first mech, that came into his view, by the shoulders with a force he didn't look like he possessed.

"Megatron, PUNK! Where is he?!"

The black-purple seeker hissed, clawing into the startled grounders armor.

"Searching for me?"

A dark smooth voice behind him asked. He turned around and rushed over to the gladiator, his facial expression changing from threatening to hopeful and pleading.

"Megatron! Remember me and my trine? We really, really need your help right now."

-x-

The gladiator had had a rough cycle. Ever since he had met that four-colored seeker, he couldn't get him out of his mind. The thoughts of his sleek form and alluring way to move often kept him awake in the night cycles. It even had him distracted in a match once and he had gotten a nasty cut because of it. Megatron really did not know, what had gotten into him. Sure, it was normal to be a little amazed by a beautiful being, but this was downright ridiculous.

So it didn't really help his processor to forget about the seeker he would probably never get, that his friend seemed to be looking for him right now. What he heard from him, actually had him worried. He wasn't worried in... he couldn't even remember to ever have been worried about another mech.

"And what do you want me to do about it, when you don't even know what happened?" He asked the troubled flier.

"I.. I just thought since you lived in Kaon you knew more about crimes?"

Skywarp timidly suggested, not having thought his actions through at all. It had just seemed like the perfect solution to him.

Megatron raised an optical ridge at him. Skywarp held his hands up defensively.

"No! Didn't mean it like that. You know... It's just.. Oh I don't know! I thought you could help and... I just want Star back..."

The winged mech before him deflated with a sigh, his striped appendages dropping low. Cybertrons best gladiator really didn't know, why he was doing this. "... I think there is a way I can help."

-x-

When the silver mech had escaped from the mines and found a job in Kaon, he had realized that not only a part, but all of cybertron was filled with injustice. The governors from Helex, the other cities and other rich people, who held the fait of the working class of their world, were all corrupted _fraggers_. The masses worked for the luxuries of a few. Mechs and femmes, even younglings starved in the streets, without a home. Even cybertronians with a job, could sometimes hardly fuel themselves from the few credits they earned with hard work.

It sickened Megatron to the spark. So after every match he had won, he preached the equality of all mechs alike, no matter of what race. He held speeches about the corruption of their rulers and called upon the masses to stand up against the injustice and fight for a free, just cybertron. And the masses had heard him. More and more cybertronians gathered around him. Some were cast out of their cities, because they had stood up for themselves. Some were cast out, because they were deemed dangerous. Some simply came to him, because they didn't have a place to go and had been moved by his words.

'Criminals and useless scrap' as the governors would state it. But to him, they were mechs. Each of them had a story and each of them was willing to even risk their lives for the vision he had set into their minds. Two of his followers had proven to be of extreme intelligence, with a lot of power in their frames. One of them, was the banned scientist Shockwave, from Kalis; and the other could help the seeker with his search. His designation was Soundwave.

He had met the anthracite mech in the arena. Soundwave was the first mech who had ever come so close to defeat him, so he listened to what he had to say. Their first encounter had led Megatron to his decision to form a group of cybertronians who wanted to stand up against the system. It was the slim mech, who had inspired him to do it himself. With him, it was possible. Though it was still impossible  
without himself. He would renew cybertron and fight against all the injustice. First, they would take over Kaon, then they would bring their vision to the rest of the world. But that wasn't the point. Soundwave wasn't only skilled in battle, he was also a telepath and very skilled in gathering intelligence.

-x-

Megatron took Skywarp down to his quarters under the arena and pinged Soundwaves comm. link, to tell him to find out, what happened to the vosian prince. His request was answered not a breem later and the mech started to explain what happened in Iacon

"...emergency transport to Helex: has been activated. Conclusion: Sentinel Prime has ordered the abduction of Starscream."

For a reason not known to him, these words made the gladiators systems blaze with anger.

* * *

Cloudwing payed the warning signals, that popped up in his processor, telling him to refuel no mind. His energon would be enough to bring him to Helex. It wasn't far anymore. If Sentinel Prime was really holding Starscream captive, he wouldn't hesitate to declare war to him. Noone attacked the prince of Vos and got away with it. The royal advisor flew to the mansion of the autobot governor, pushing his turbine to its maximum. He transformed and landed on a balcony, searching frantically for any sign of his protégé. Just as he caught sight of him, standing behind the prime with tense wings, he felt a searing pain in his abdomen.

* * *

"I told you, I will not play by your rules, ground pounder. You can threaten me as much as you want, I will never bow before you."

"Sooner or later you will; you'll see. And if you continue to behave like this, I will not hesitate to make my threat from last night cycle -"

Sentinel Prime suddenly stopped. He stared at something on the balcony, through their glass doors. Cloudwing. Vos had found him. Starscream moved to greet him, when he heard the cannon, his red-golden captor had mounted onto his shoulders, charge.

"No! Wait!"

He yelled at the mech, fearing the worst. And a shot was fired. His advisor fell to the ground.  
The prince sprinted over to the balcony, knelt beside him and took the fallen seekers head in his hands.

"Cloudwing..." His minder groaned in pain, his optics were flickering, weakly he  
lifted up a hand to stroke him over his cheek, then his cockpit.

"Star...scream..." He whispered with a rasp in his faint voice. A last smile graced his faceplate... and his optics became black.

"Cloudwing?... Hey... Stay online... Don't leave me... ... Cloudwing?"

An agonizingly loud, spark-breaking and shrill cry cut through the air. The warm metal Starscream held in his hands grew cold and the shining pair of wings, that had just reflected the setting evening sun in a beautiful way, suddenly became dull and lifeless. The vosian prince screamed in misery and hugged the cold frame of the seeker, who had been like family to him, with a desperate grip. Carefully, he let his fallen minder slip out of his hands and stood up, slowly lifting his head to stare at the murderer of his friend with a hateful expression.

"You... You killed him. You offlined Cloudwing. You pit-spawned, slag-eating, fragging son of a pylon!"

Lifting his claws to strike, he lunged at Sentinel Prime, who caught his wrists with ease. Starscream struggled and thrashed wildly, trying to get out of the grip, fully intent on offlining the other for what he had done.

"Yes. I have. But if he was here, it means Vos must know that I have you. Luckily he was alone. Still, it will probably not be all too long until other seekers follow to attack. I can't let them take you away. You're mine. And I know how to keep you, no matter what."

The prime started to drag him away, completely unfazed by his resistance.

"Actually, I had intended to do this with your consent, after gaining your favor, but now... I won't have time for that. It must be done now... It doesn't matter to me, that you are not even fully mature yet."

For a moment Starscream was dazed with shock. He couldn't mean... The seeker began to thrash anew screaming and scratching, tugging violently at his captured wrist. Right now, he damned the deactivation of his internal weapons and thrusters more than ever. This couldn't be happening to him.

Fed up with his actions, Sentinel Prime turned around and hoisted him up. He held him with an almost crushing grip, as he walked up the stairs. Once the sturdy autobot had taken him to his quarters, he was carelessly thrown onto the primes berth.

Taking the opportunity, the adolescent tried to scramble off and flee, but he was harshly grabbed by the waist. His attacker lifted his light frame up and laid him down on his back. Soon after, he climbed over him, supporting himself on his hands and knees. Starscreams wings quivered in fear, making rattling sounds against the surface of the berth.

"Don't even try to escape. I will never let you go again."

Panicking, he shot up his hands and dug his talons deep into the grounders chestplates, scratching along them. The prime howled in pain and batted his claws away. He looked down at him with an angry expression.

"That. Was **naughty**, seeker!"

His older captor yelled at him, ripping off one of the rods, that decorated his berth, bending and using it to pinion him with it. The bent metal was noosed around his wrists and another pole on the head of the berth. Starscream tugged at it with full force, only to see, that it wouldn't budge. When the governor started to paw at his frame, he brought his right thruster up and kicked the offender in his abdominal plating, throwing him off the berth. That seemed to aggravate the mech even further. His assailant moved back over him grabbed his right side with his left hand, turning him slightly, almost bending his wing with the action. The prince started to shout and curse the mech to the pit until Sentinel Prime dealt three harsh strikes to his aft. Starscream yelped and winced, when the unsuspected pain shot through his systems.

"Behave already!"

The autobot shouted at him releasing his side, letting him fall onto his back again.

Frightened, the vosian prince tried to curl into a ball, but his attacker pulled him back by the tips of his thigh-plating. He shoved his hands between them and forced his legs apart. When the seeker tried to shut them again, he put one of his own legs between them. After he had checked the pole he had tied around his wrists, he began to trace a finger along Starscreams red, decorated hip-plating. The sick grounder seemed to enjoy his cries and protests. Sentinel brought both of his hands up to his wings, smearing them all over his sensitive appendages.

"Get your filthy hands off me, ground pounder!" He screamed, receiving another blow to the side of his hip.

The prime brought a hand down between his legs, touching his interface panel.

"Open it." He ordered.

Feeling panic rise in his systems once more the prince tried to squirm free again.

"As if I would bare myself to a murderer!" The seeker screeched, his voice filled with hate.

"You better open it."

"Go, frag yourself!"

The one hand, that was still on his wing, started to squeeze painfully.

"Open your interface-panel at once, or I swear to Primus, I will snap you wing off!"

When Starscreams cable unlocked with a click and his panel opened, tears of magenta G-fluid started to stream down his faceplate. He didn't want this. This couldn't happen. He didn't want this at all.

Sentinel Prime wore a sick grin on his face as he probed the rim of the seeker's sweetly untouched port with his finger, making him whimper. As another click was heard, the prince offlined his optics. He didn't want to see this. He didn't want to bear with this. Why couldn't this be a dream? Oh, how he would love to be with his trinemates right now. He couldn't let this happen, he had to be there for Skywarp and Thundercracker after all. And he couldn't let the mech who had offlined Cloudwing do this to him, he probably even wanted to bond... the stunning gladiator he had met in Kaon came to his mind, and a bitter-sweet feeling flooded his systems, before despair set in.

"No... don't..." He whined, "...help..."

Starscream felt the heat of the frame, that smothered his own come closer and braced himself for penetration.

Then, the sound of a cannon blasting through several layers of metal boomed across the room and suddenly... the weight above him was gone. The prince onlined his optics as a somehow familiar snarl rang in his audios.

"Don't you **dare** to touch him!"

* * *

_TBC..._

_I just couldn't let Sentinel have Screamer. _

_That's Meg's job._

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter._


	10. In joy and sorrow

Hastily Starscream locked his cable back together and closed his interface-panel, before he looked to his right, to see his attacker lying on the ground. Sentinel Prime had been hit in the shoulder and was seemingly in stasis from the shock and impact, black smoke steamed from his energon leaking wound. The seeker turned his head around, to see who had saved him and to confirm that he was really saved.

The impressive mech he saw, standing in the door frame, with the most furious expression he had ever seen, stirred up many emotions in him, most of all, _relief_.

"M... Megatron!"

Not sparing the vosian a look, he slowly walked to the other side of the chamber with heavy steps, stopped before the prime and turned the governor over with his pede, to see if he was still a threat. He growled at the still form in front of him, before  
turning around, going over to the berth and ripping the pole, that was tied around Starscreams wrists, off with one tug.

"Are you alright?" The gladiator asked him, his vents humming loudly.

Sitting up, the prince rubbed his sore wrists and looked up to his savior.

"Yes, I'm fine. I... thank you. But, how did you know I was here?"

"Your black-purple friend came and asked me to help. So I had one of my men search for you." The gladiator answered, trying to distract himself from the presumably involuntary alluring pose which the Seeker was splayed in on the berth.

"One of your '_men_'?" The winged adolescent asked, confused, not noticing how flustered the other was.

"That's not important right now. We should get away from here, before the security arrives."

"Where is Skywarp?" Starscream looked around, searching for his trinemate.

"I left him in my quarters back at Kaon. Bringing him would have been too much trouble." The silver mech inwardly rolled his optics, when he remembered, how the agitated seeker had literally hopped up and down, complaining about wanting to come, like a little youngling.

"But let's go already."

"Wait... we have to take Cloudwing with us..."

When Megatron only gave him a confused look, he stood up from the berth and went to the balcony on the second floor, where the royal advisors cold frame still lay on the ground.

"Oh.." The gladiator heaved a frustrated sigh.

He wanted to tell the seeker, that they did not have the time to drag around dead mechs, but for some reason he couldn't. Striding over to the balcony, he hoisted the other seeker up and draped him over his shoulder.

"Now transform and fly to Kaon, I'll follow."

The prince looked at the strong mech, with a humorless expression.

"I can't. They have installed capsules of concentrated energon into my thrusters."

Rolling his optics in an annoyed way, the silver gladiator walked over to him.

"Then let's rip them out."

Starscream took a step back and held up his hands defensively.

"What? No! You can't do that! If you try to remove them with force, they will explode."

"Then come with me and move it! If we wait around any longer there will probably be a whole military squadron blocking our way!" Megatron bellowed out of habit, startling the seeker, who nodded and started to walk down the corridors.

"Can't you move any faster?"

"Well, actually _no_, I am a seeker, not a ground pounder, I am made for flying, not running."

"Oh for Primus' sake...!" Throwing him over his other shoulder, ignoring the seekers' undignified cry of surprise, he started to sprint while activating his comm. link.

/Soundwave, we are grounded/

/Soundwave: Will activate abandoned underground transport. Head to coordinates: 48° 12' 20,40'' N 011° 16' 01,20'' E./

-x-

Seekers were claustrophobic it seemed. Getting the dainty four colored mech into the transport had been the pit. He had screamed and scratched his back; but now that he had him in, it was actually quite nice. Starscream sat on his lap and pressed his frame against his own. He had clawed himself into his back armor and buried his head in his neck cables, pristine white wings forming a downward angle, trembling in fright. He really could get used to that closeness... Megatron wanted to slap himself. He was such an aft.

As soon as the transport came to halt on the surface near the gladiatorial arena and the door opened, the seeker leapt out, whipping around to face him, snapping his wings halfway back up and together in an aggressive position.

"You! How dare you force me into that _thing_?!"

"How dare I save you?" the gladiator retorted with an unamused scowl on his face.

The princes' chest deflated and his wings moved back against his shoulders.

"You're right. I'm sorry. It's just that tight compartments make me... nervous."

"I noticed."

"Star!" Skywarp lunged at his trineleader, almost knocking him over.

"Thank Unicron, you're safe." he said, squeezing him tightly by the waist, before looking over to the gladiators shoulder.

"Is... that Cloudwing? ... What happened?"

Starscream sighed, wings dropping again.

"He's offline. Sentinel Prime shot him, when he came to rescue me."

"Offline?" Megatron asked, giving him a strange look.

"No, he's not. His sparkbeat may be very faint but he's only gone into stasis lock."

The seekers looked at him, puzzled and hopeful.

"What do you mean?"

"I am a gladiator In the pits of Kaon. I have killed more than enough mechs, to know what an offlined frame feels like and believe me, this one is not dead."

"So why are we waitin'? Let's bring him to Hazeglide!" Skywarp exclaimed, unwrapping his left arm from his trinemates waist, to grab the silver mechs' wrist.

"'Warp, wait! You can't bring an outsider to-"

Starscream yelled, before they disappeared with a purple flash,

"-Vos..."

-x-

After a moment of bewilderment, the medic started doing his job, by now, he should be used to Skywarp just appearing right in front of him.

"You!" The white stealth jet pointed to Megatron, who was still a little perplexed, because of the teleport.

So _that_ is how the flippant seeker had managed to get out to them although he had locked him in his quarters...

"Lay Cloudwing down on a berth. After I have stabilized him, I will examine the rest of you, so go and take a seat over there, **all** of you." The medic ordered, not questioning the presence of the outsider, he didn't have time for useless questions right now. Cloudwings state was critical.

Though he addressed his prince, turning briefly to look at him.

"Your Highness, It's good to have you back."

The gladiators' head snapped to the four colored seeker, confusion and surprise written all over him.

"_Highness_?"

Starscream looked at him sheepishly.

"I didn't mention that?"

"Star, you're back." Thundercracker walked into the room.

"I thought I sensed something through the trinebond. ... Why is _he_ here?" The blue seeker began to ask, looking at Megatron, before a normally calm seeker intervened in a sharp voice.

"**Be quiet** I need to concentrate here. Sit down with the others, so I can examine you too."

"But you just released me this cy-"

"**Just sit down and let me work**!"

Two groons later, Hazeglide huffed a content sigh. Cloudwing was stabilized, Skywarp and Thundercracker had been ok, he had reactivated the princes' weapons and comm. link, removed the explosives from his thrusters and completely repaired the battered frame of the non-vosian, with a lot of bickering and some resistance.

"Ok, now you can tell me what this is all about. ...-"

"-... we need to report this to the seneschal. It's our duty."

* * *

Sentinel Prime awoke with a buzz in his processor and pain in his shoulder. For a moment, he could not access his memory files. Supporting himself on the wall beside him, he stood up. The governor closed his optics briefly, bracing his injured shoulder with his hand, before onlining them again, to take a look of his surroundings. He was in his own quarters. The door was missing, a pole had been ripped from his berth, dented and thrown across the room.  
What happened? Why did he find it strange, that his berth was empty? When his memory files were accessible again, ire riled up in his systems.

"The seeker! Where is my seeker?! That slagging pit-fighter!"

That. was. **it**. Megatron and his Decepticon followers had always been a thorn in his optics. Actually, he despised the whole Decepticon _bunch_, be they normal citizens or not. Now, he had been attacked. Now he had a reason to strike back. Ever since Megatron had come to him in the Supreme Court of Judicature in Helex, to propound his vision of a new system in cybertron, he called '_just_', he had wanted to terminate him.  
And now... he finally could.

After a short comm. link call, Sentinel Prime transformed, drove over to the Court and ordered the staff to broadcast what he had to say to all Autobots in Cybertron. Quickly, he shot the other governors without a second thought, creating a horrible image for the masses to see, before he let the recordings start.

"Fellow Autobots." He began his speech that was broadcasted as an emergency message.

"This cycle, our Decepticon brethren... have declared war on us. Behind our backs, they have confederated, with the intention on killing or enslaving us all. This cycle, a mech, a warlord, a _monster_, named Megatron has come before the Supreme Court, to state his claims. He demanded, to receive the Matrix of Leadership, to bring all of our world into subjection. He demanded to be the new supreme ruler of Cybertron and when we denied him his insane request, imploring him to stray from his mad path... he shot us down.

As you can see, there are many casualties. Sadly, I am the _only_ survivor. This... is the doing of a madmech. We are glad, that this fiend was not able to steal the Matrix from my spark, as Primus forbade it. Dark times stand before us, my brethren. We are on the threshold of war. But do not fear, fellow Autobots, for we are not as weak and inferior, as the Decepticons believe we are. This cycle, we will arm ourselves and bring out our _own_ military, so that with Primus' help, we will stand our ground and protect our families, our friends... our home."

* * *

Moondancer sat in her throne room, her pitch-black trinemates, as always, standing in formation. Although her expression remained neutral, she was overly glad to see the vosian heir back in full health; and relieved, that her son was still online.

"...So Cloudwing will be repaired?"

"Yes, seneschal. He will be fully functional again in a quartex." Hazeglide answered dutifully, after bowing low in a show of respect.

Moondancer nodded.

"So... would someone explain to me why an outsider is standing in my throne room?" She regarded the sturdy, silver-violet mech before her with skeptical optics.

The old femme knew that gladiator. Although she had never met him, her citizens in the Iaconian academy, who had the side-mission to keep track of the events in Cybertron, had often transmitted recordings of his speeches to her. Secretly, the vosian ruler supported the vision and words he spread. She knew, that the situations outside of Vos were unjust and downright horrible. Still, she did not intent to let on about anything of this; not yet, at least.

Starscream stepped forth, and answered her question.

"We teleported him along with us by accident."

"And why was he with you in the first place?"

"He saved my life."

A displeased frown formed on Moondancers faceplate. This was bad. She heaved a sigh and did her duty.

"Then, we are indebted to you grounder. As a reward for saving his royal Highness prince Starscream of Vos, we will grant you one wish. Choose wisely...Megatron."

"How do you know my name?" The gladiator growled, suspicion creeping up his systems.

"I may be old, but my optics and audio receptors are still functioning. Do not take me for a fool, gladiator. I know very well, about what happens outside of our city. Vos has not isolated itself for no reason after all. So, what is your request?"

Megatron considered for a moment, before looking into the seneschals eyes with burning determination.

"I want your full support in my quest for a just cyberton. With my recent attack on Sentinel Prime, to rescue your prince, war is sure to come. The governors have long searched for a valid reason to attack the mechs I have gathered around me and through my action today, I have given him one. Surely you know this just as well as I do. Join my cause. Help me fight for Cybertron. Give me the control over your military, so I can send them out to defend against the enemy."

Moondancers frown deepened further upon hearing what she feared she would.

"This will not be possible. Vos is already preparing for evacuation on my order. It is our plan, that in case of war, we seekers will retreat to a distant planet our queen Nightscream has secured for us; and she has already been notified."

Starscream stared at her with disbelieving optics.

"You are still in contact with my carrier? ... And didn't bother to tell me about it? ... I thought she was dead!"

"Calm down. It is not as you think. Direct contact is not possible, the only thing I did was to send out a signal. And no, she is alive, but be assured, that she left with a good reason and grief in her spark. She does love you Starscream and I am sure you can sense it through the bond you still share with your carrier. The presences you feel besides your trinemates' are your creators'."

"Yes, yes, I know about the special bond between creation and creator. I just don't understand why she left. But anyways... **I will stay behind**."

All optics were on him in an instant.

"That is **not** an option, young prince." Moondancer said insistently.

"You are the vosian heir."

Starscream fanned out his wings, putting his right thruster in front of the other, the talons of his right hand barely touching his chestplate, his left arm stretched out parting the space between his legs and wings in the middle and looked straight into the seneschals' optics, undeterred.

"I owe this mech my _life_. He has saved me twice already, actually. No, matter what you say, I will stay here on Cybertron and help him fight his war. Even if I should be alone in this. I **will** stay here with Megatron."

The old seeker femme could hardly hold back her feelings. When her friend, the queen Nightscream had told her about her decision, to leave Vos with her bondmate, she was standing there in the exact same way her son did right now, with the same determination flaring up in her bright red optics. She knew it was a lost cause.

Holding back her tears with an iron will, she nodded and let her wings sag just a little bit.

"Then so be it. I will part the military. Everyone who is willing to participate in the war, will stay here with you. The others,"

She added, knowing well, that every single one of them would gladly stay behind to protect their prince,

"will be forced to escort us safely to Caelifer."

With a stern expression on her faceplate, she looked over to Megatron, who was staring at the adolescent prince in surprise and _something else_, she didn't like at all.

"You better protect him and treat him well, gladiator."

* * *

_TBC..._

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter._

_A little bit sooner this time because I was asked for a quick update and I don't have time tomorrow._

_So here you go._

_I know that it's clichè that Cloudwing isn't really dead, but I needed a good reason why Megatron would end up in Vos, so I had to revive him._

_Besides, Transformers fans should be used to dead characters reawakening. I mean, Optimus "dies" in every freaking TF-world and comes back stronger. Cloudwing won't come back stronger though._


	11. Preparing for war

It did not take long for the Seekers to depart. Starscream and his trine stayed in their shared trine quarters the whole time they were preparing, while Megatron was sent to wait in one of their guest quarters in the tower.

An old voisian rule said, that seekers who stood behind to defend the city were not to see the ones, who left to assure the survival of their race until the fight or war was over, to steel their resolve to win and survive the war with the goal to meet their loved ones again. So they waited.

Hazeglide and his trine were staying behind with them, to provide proper medical care for the armada, Dreadwing's trine and some other guards were also staying with the order to look out for the royal trine. Several military units, fighter jets and coneheads, some stealth jets among them. A few Shuttles were to attend transport duties. An eighth of the maids stayed behind to take care of the other needs. The trine of Cloudwing left to Caelifer to protect the seneschal and the others on their journey.

"I have just received a comm. link call. The others have left Cybertron. I guess we can go out now... We should get Megatron."

Starscream was lying on his back on the huge berth, covering his optics with his right arm.

Thundercracker sat on the edge, reading a data pad on vosian history. Skywarp lay on the other edge, hanging halfway over it. All three wore a sullen expression on their faceplate and an empty, heavy feeling flowed through their trinebond from all sides.

"Yes, I guess we should." The blue air superiority jet stood up, and walked around the berth.

He knelt before Skywarp and put a hand on his back in a reassuring way. The black-purple seeker snapped up his head and looked at his trinemate.

"So we' gonna' get to slag the afthead that kidnaped Star now?" He asked, sending a sudden burst of giddiness through the bond.

The trineleader sat up and stared at his left wing, disbelieving.

"Are you telling me, that you _want_ to fight this war?"

Skywarp stood up and flexed his wings.

"Well not the war, but it'd sure be satisfying to punch the fragger's faceplate in. Besides, being all sad and sulky doesn't help us win this fight, does it? We 'gotta get our turbines going if we want to defend our home."

Starscream sighed, letting a small smile grace his faceplates.

"For once, you are right Warp. Thank you."

He said, standing up, feeling the determination he felt, when he first decided to stay behind, flare up in his systems again.

"Hey, what do you mean _for once_?"

-x-

Megatron paced up and down in the room he was given. To him, it almost seemed like a hall. The rooms in Vos were quite spacious, his quarters back in the arena could fit three times into this guest room. The luxury was also unlike anything he had ever seen before. There were crystals worth more than all of his salaries together in every corner, the floors and walls were polished to an almost blinding shine, the windows were huge and the berth was freaking _floating_. How was this even possible?

The gladiator shook his head. He had wanted to exit the room to ask what was going on several times, but each time a maid had very politely asked him to stay inside and explained the vosian rule to him. Normally the rough mech would have been angered by that, but he did not feel threatened or confined in any way, as he was provided with great hospitality and the best energon he had ever tasted.

A fond smile spread over Megatrons faceplate. He had rescued the four colored seeker and was thanked for it. He had gained powerful allies in his fight against suppression; and maybe he had also gotten the chance to get closer to the stunning creature that occupied his mind like a virus. The fact that he was a prince, didn't deter him. The four-colored flier seemed to be different than the other nobles, who hollered in joy every time he offlined a mech's spark for their sick entertainment, or kicked a starving youngling on the streets when they begged for a drop of energon.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. The silver mech stopped his pacing and went to open the door. Before it stood the vosian prince, flanked by his two friends.

"The other's have left Cybertron. We can begin the preparations for everything now. Have you fought battles like this before?"

The gladiator raised an optical ridge as a response, his face clearly stating that he had the feeling he was being fooled with. The prince before him shook his head and held up one his hand defensively.

"No, I don't mean it like that. What I mean is, have you expert knowledge in war strategics?"

"No, I have only fought in the pits before." He answered, watching his counterpart closely.

"The vosian library has vast amounts of data pads on the subject. I think it would be wise for us to read them." The prince said and turned around halfway, to order a few maids to bring them the pads.

Megatron nodded.

"Yes, it might be."

"...And ... my designation is Starscream. Please, call me Starscream. I think we should stand together as one in this, noble or not. Nobility doesn't make a mech better after all."

Again, the gladiator was surprised by the oppinion of the prince, he was definitely different than the others.  
Soon the maids returned with the datapads and the two of them began to study each of them. They downloaded the information directly, instead of reading everything. It was unpleasant, but a lot faster; and they didn't have much time; Sentinel would surely make his first move soon, if he hasn't already.

"We should move to Kaon and inform the rest of my men."

Thundercracker stepped forward.

"Skywarp and I should stay behind and ready the weapons and definsive systems. Megatron, I trust you protect him." The right wing said, looking the silver mech straight into the optics.

"Do not worry. He is safe with me."

"But I 'wanna go too." The purple mech wailed, but was dragged away by the blue seeker.

* * *

Starscream still hated Kaon. It was so ...filthy. But they had work to do. Megatron had to brief the mechs, who had joined him to help in the fight against injustice on their planet, about the gained air support. But it soon showed that it was them about to be briefed. When the duo stepped into the lower levels below the arena, where the silver mech's quarters were stationed, they were greeted by a strange looking, slim black, purple glowing mech with a black visor over his whole faceplate.

"Soundwave." Megatron greeted and the slim mech, probably flier type, stepped forward.

Without saying a word he activated a video feed on his screen, showing the fake scene Sentinel Prime had created and broadcasted to every Autobot on all of Cybertron. The seeker felt the ire rise in his systems, but the silver gladiator spoke before he could.

"So Sentinel has already made his move. We have to start the preparations now." He briefly looked to the side and steadied his stance before looking back up, determined.

"Soundwave. Gather the Mechs in the arena. Tell them that I have important things to say."

The glowing mech nodded and went away. Megatron turned to Starscream, relaxing and softening his voice a little.

"You should wait in my quarters."

The seeker crossed his arms and scoffed.

"Why? Are you telling them something you don't want me to hear?"

If this was going to be the way things would be going he was out of this.

"No. It's for your own safety. The mechs here in Kaon are not as good mannered as the ones you probably know."

A few clicks passed until the prince understood what the other had just implied. He nodded and let himself be led into the gladiator's quarters.

"If you want to you can watch my speech on the monitor. It is liked with the cameras in the arena." The sturdy mech said, before leaving.

Starscream stared at the closed door for a while, still trying to grasp the situation he was in now, they ALL were in now. He wasn't quite sure that it was really what he wanted. But he did not have any other choice at this point. Cybertron would soon be at war, he knew that, there was no way of changing that fact. He could have fled to Caelifer with the others, but it didn't seem right. The vosian heir felt responsible for the protection of his city, he couldn't just let it be destroyed; and he wanted to repay Megatron for rescuing him. Even if he didn't want to admit it, he felt drawn to the rough gladiator, he had felt that way from the moment he first saw him. Starscream shook his head. It was irresponsible from him to make this decision, he knew, but it just felt so right. The seeker sighed and turned on the teleconsol.

-x-

After watching the silver mechs speech on the monitor for a while, the vosian caught himself staring at his decorated, strong back instead of actually listening to the words that were spoken. For the third time this day, he violently shook his head, to clear his mind and turned off the consol. What was _wrong_ with him? This wasn't like his normal self. To be this entranced by a _ground pounder_ was just ridiculous. To be this fascinated by _anyone _was strange for him. Sure, he could respect some great achievements, but he was the most stunning creature on all of Cybertron, he wasn't supposed to be admiring others. They were to admire _him_. Starscream shook his head again. When had he become so arrogant? The seeker sighed and stood up from the berth he had sat on, when he had activated the screen. He decided to distract himself from his strange thoughts. Finding it an interesting activity he left the gladiator's quarters to explore the space under the arena. It wouldn't hurt to know how the mechs he would be fighting with were living. The data pads said one had to know the men one was fighting with to ensure good teamwork.

Curiously he peaked out, before stepping outside and walking around, wings held high, thrusters clicking and echoing in the empty halls with every slow step. The floors and walls were not polished, but they weren't dirty either. Most of the space under the arena seemed to be hallway, with different levels. In every long hallway were several Energon dispensers, and lots of doors. There were washracks on every second floor and on the end of the hall on the top floor, one staircase beneath the arena was a medical bay. If you could call it that. The seeker stepped through the threshold and let the doors hiss shut behind him. He could venture around without thought. Everyone was in the arena, listening to Megatrons speech.

Or so he thought. When he curiously strut around in the dimly lit room, looking at the Energon stains on the walls and crude pillars, the dented walls and berths, the paints and spray guns in the lockers, and the surprisingly clean medical instruments on the table, he heard something shuffle in a corner at the end of the room. Inquisitively he walked over to the curtain the sound must have come from. Starscream gave a start, taking a step back, when the curtain was suddenly ripped aside before his optics and a raspy voice yelled through the room.

"How long are you fragger going to leave me damaged?! Should I rip out your T-cog, so you know how much it hurts you damn med-" The bulky mech stopped his rant and stared at the slim, winged form before him a few nanoclicks, before a leering smile spread on his ugly, scratched faceplate.

Warily the four-colored seeker took a step back, away from the mech. He looked hideous. A mud-brown, dull and blistered paint job covered his whole, Energon stained, inelegant frame. A horrendously huge gap adorned his side, opposite to were a seeker's T-cog was located. His energy signature was eery and gross, as was the look he gave him and the pitch his voice spoke in.

"..Hey pretty thing... Are you the new nurse? ..." He asked in a haugty tone, sitting up on the medical berth.

"I have a terrible ache in my interface panel, come cure it."

Starscream's wings sagged down a bit and snapped back aggressively.

"How **dare** you?! Stay away from me you filthy ground pounder!" He hissed and threateningly held out his sharp talons in front of him.

The bulky grounder pulled an ugly frown and stood up, advancing slowly.

"Now that wasn't very nice slut." He grunted, and leapt forward, pushing the smaller frame against the wall.

Brusquely he pulled back his fist and slammed it inches above his left wing. Starscream ducked quickly, when he sensed the fist near his wing with the sensors in the appendage. Letting his inborn fighting protocols boot he let his claws shoot out and rammed them deeply into his attacker's chassis creating deep slashes, that spouted Energon. The gladiators armor was quite strong and thick though, so it didn't reach his spark chamber, as the seeker had hoped.

With an ugly cry of pain, the brown mech grabbed his throat and towered above him. His face hovering inches above his own. The foul smell of rancid coolant and dried Energon filled his olfactory sensors, but before he could comment on that the raspy vocalizer grunted again.

"Argh, you stupid whore! I'm going to frag you raw!"

When the hideous mech tightened his grip on his throatcables and started to paw at his hipplating, the seeker prince started to panic. Relying solely on his battle programs he kicked up his right leg and dug his sharp, pointy knee plate into the wound over the gladiator's damaged T-cog, damaging the sparking organ even further. He was lucky the grounder was already hurt. While seekers had excellent battle programs, their frames weren't made for ground combat. He would be lucky if he stood a chance against the injured gladiator.

* * *

The silver gladiator stood in the middle of the arena, addressing the mechs, that had gathered around him.

"...From this day on we are at war. The Government has finally decided to slaughter us and everyone who dares to defy them... and we are going to dare. We are going to crush this regime, and rebuilt Cybertron with a just system. Sentinel Prime has tricked the nobles and autobots into believing we have attacked them. They want them to think, that we are the evil... and I say. If they want us to be evil, we will be just that for them... until the war is over, all differences are erased and every mech can be treated the same... Soundwave, show them the fake scene Sentinel broadcasted to the autobot citizens. ... Now my decepticon bretheren. Are you ready to fight for your rights?"

The crowd startet to shout and whoop, throwing their fists into the air. Megatron nodded to himself, satisfied with the determination of his gathered troops. He left the arena to fetch the seeker from his quarters, only to find that he wasn't there.

"Primus, that seeker is troublesome." He sighed annoyed and sent a comm. link to Soundwave to ask for the vosian's whereabouts.

The slim, glowing mech hacked into the arena's security system with ease and sent him a live video transmission of the fight in the medical ward. 'Frag it!' The Gladiator thought and hit the wall, before sprinting to rescue the prince. Again. He slapped the panel to open the door and growled menacingly when he saw one of his fellow gladiators trying to land a hit on the fast and agile seeker. Without hesitation, he leapt forward and punched the brown mech's faceplate in, who fell to the ground with a loud thud and stopped moving. Megatron snarled at the still frame on the floor, before turning around to face Starscream.

"What were you thinking?! Didn't I warn you about the mechs here?! Those are trained Gladiators! He could have terminated you!"

The prince averted his gaze to the floor. His wings moved back against his shoulders, sagged down and started to tremble. He had never been in a real fight before and though he had received military training, the real deal was different, terrifying. The seeker hoped he would get used to that feeling in time. Exasperated the silver gladiator sighed and nudged the beautiful white red-striped wings back up, as careful as he could manage.

"Are you hurt?" He asked, when he had made optical contact with the other.

Starscream shook his head and let out a gust of air.

"Can we go back to Vos? I'm covered in dirt and I want to clean myself. It's also time we start preparing my armada for this war, too."

Megatron nodded, saying nothing.

/Skywarp? Come here and teleport us back home./

* * *

_TBC..._

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter. _


	12. What has to be done

As Skywarp recieved the comm. link transmission from his trineleader he hastily put the armored boxes he was carrying to the ground and looked at the blue seeker in front of him.

"Gotta go fetch Star."

Thundercracker looked back over his shoulder as he heard the left Wing speak and also put the box in his hands on the floor. He turned around and crossed his arms over his chestplates.

"Really? Or are you just trying to avoid the work?" He asked skeptically.

"Hey, I'd never do that!"

"Is that so? Remember the one time you told me you couldn't come to help clean up the library, because you had clipped your wing and later that cycle I found you playing air tag with some other younglings? Or the other time when you claimed your cockpit glass was cracked and I worried myself sick, ran to Hazeglide only to hear that you haven't seen him in decacycles? As far as I remember there were several times you did such things. Like the time when-"

"Okay, Okay, I like to sneak around my duties, but I really just received a call from him. After I have warped to Kaon, I'll teleport right back to you and help you with dragging the rest of the wepons from the military school to the main armory."

The blue seeker sighed and nodded, picking up his box again.

"I believe you, just don't let me down this time."

Skywarp gave him a mock salute, grinning like an idiot.

"Wouldn't dream of it." And with that he disappeared in a purple flash.

He didn't expect to see what he was seeing right now. Confused and a little worried he looked around the battered medical bay of the arena, almost starting to count all the Energon splotches on the wall. After looking around for a few nanoclicks he finally moved his attention to the two still standing frames.

"Wow... what happened here? Are you ok?"

Starscream nodded, slowly lifting up his wings to their usual proud position.

"Yes, I'm fine. Can you bring us back or are you feeling tired?"

The giddy seeker just grinned and hopped forward, grabbing the wrists of his trineleader and Megatron, before initiating his warping sequence again. Back in Vos he picked up the box he had put on the floor earlier. He looked to his right, to address the others.

"TC 'n I still need a little while to collect all the weapons, 'wanna help?" The right Wing beamed, impatiently shifting from one thruster to the other.

With an apologetic expression his trineleader shook his head.

"I'm sorry. We don't have much time, I have to introduce Megatron to our troops, so he knows how to best use them and what he can expect from them. You know that the grounders know next to nothing of us and that won't do if we want to fight together."

The gladiator watched the conversation between the two seekers in silence, his equilibrium chip was still a little thrown off from the teleport. After Skywarp had strutted off, pouting like a sparkling, Starscream had touched his wrist, to get his attention.

"Would you mind waiting here for a little bit? I want to clean myself. I'll be back soon."

The term 'soon' seemed to have a different meaning to the vosians, but the four-colored seeker finally came back.

"Walk with me, I'll show you around, while introducing you to our race." The now again shining jet asked in a polite manner, not giving Megatron the impression of being ordered around.

Vos was even more impressive than the first insights had suggested. The towers were huge and so was the city. Everything here flowed over from luxury. It was spacious, there were no streets, there were a lot of windows and even crystal floors at some points. A city definitely not built for grounders. The seeker prince led him to an imposing crystal garden. He had seen pictures of the one in Iacon and this one made it look like the iaconians were pathetic amateurs.

"There are a few things you need to know about us first." Starscream began, sitting down on a very fragile looking bench. Megatron decided to keep standing. "Everyone who can hover and fly in both, bipedal and alt.-mode is considered a seeker. Seekers operate in trines, the trine is the most important thing in our lives, we share a special bond and when one dies, soon follows the other. So it is very unwise to separate a trine, always sent them all to one mission. We seekers have different types of frames, just like you. There are space shuttles. They are extremely tall, with durable plating and a lot of subspace. The shuttles can easily travel very long distances without needing a pause. It would be best to use them for transport. Then there are the leer jets, they are slower and equipped with only primary weapon systems, they weren't really built to fight, so I'd recommend to use them for emergency backup only. Our main battle force are the fighter jets and coneheads. Both can be equipped with powerful weapons, coneheads are faster, while fighter jets have stronger plating, I'd sent the fighter jets on the front, while letting the coneheads do the support and spadework. Coneheads can destroy vast amounts of space in a few clicks, and fighter jets can be also used for ground combat. For gethering intelligence and general special operations, we have the stealth jets. Their frames are small and hard to spot. They fly without making much of a noise and have camouflage paint jobs for every time of the cycle, but they have small tanks and can't fly without refueling for very long."

The silver mech listened attentively, he wanted to know what his new allies were capable of and so far it seemed very promising.

"What type are you?" He asked, trying to not sound and look too intrusive, while scrutinizing the beautiful frame before him.

"I am an air superiority jet. We are the fastest of seekers and most agile. Our weapons system are made for precise and devastating attacks, but we can't carry many weapons and our plating is light and thin, so ground combat is out of question. My trine and I are the only ones of the type that remained here though." Starscream stood up with a fluent graceful movement and continued speaking, after giving Megatron a once-over. "What type are you? Can you fly?"

"Yes, I am an air tank." He explained, not caring to elaborate, as he thought the seeker knew of the grounder race; he looked like he knew.

The vosian nodded.

"I'll take you to the main military facility. I'll gather all my seekers there, so you can get a first impression of them. Meanwhile I'll go back to the royal tower, to speak with Hazeglide." And with that, he ignited his thrusters and transformed, waiting until the gladiator had done the same, before guiding him to the huge platform the military was located, before turning around and flying back. Not much time passed, before a voice drew his attention.

"What are you doing here grounder?"

The tank turned around, to see a flock of seekers, with a broad built fly towards and landing in front of him. Megatron wasn't impressed by the presence of the mechs, he was the best gladiator in all of Cybertron. If they wanted to attack him, he wished them good luck.

"I am Megatron and I am here because your prince has formed an allience with me."

The blue and yellow seeker, the gladiator guessed it was a fighter jet, in front of him scoffed and shifted the spear he was carrying to a threatening position.

"I do not believe you. His Highness would never willingly let an outsider into our city. You must have done something to him. Tell me what you did to our prince."

Just as the silver mech started to get angry, a white-red conehead seeker intervened.

"Dreadwing, stand down. I was present. His Highness willingly allied himself to this mech. We owe him, he has saved his life." The conehead turned towards Megatron.

"I am Ramjet, commander of the air strike unit two. Though I am grateful that you saved our prince, I have to agree with Dreadwing and the others. We seekers have had very bad experiences with you grounders in the past. Know that you, although you will be accepted here as long as prince Starscream commands it, are neither trusted nor welcome here. We won't attack you, until his Highness sees reason and notices, what ruthless scum you are. But know we will not hesitate to terminate you, should you harm our prince in any way."

Ire filled the gladiators system like an explosion, when he heard the words of the two seekers. It took all of his willpower not to punch their cockpits in. He growled threateningly before he transformed and flew back to the tower he had come from, to keep himself from making this fight physical. Which he would, if he stayed there with those arrogant mechs any click longer. He could be a little short tempered at times. By the time he had found the medical ward, with the help of several maids, he had worked himself into a furious mess and his vents worked madly in an attempt to cool his anger-heated frame.

-x-

The vosian Prince stepped through the med. bay doors and was greeted by Hazeglide right away.

"Your Highness. How may I help you?"

Starscream waved the CMO off, as he started to run a scanner over his frame.

"I'm fine. I came to talk to you and your trine." He said, beckoning the other two stealth jets the grey-blue Nebulafloat and the grey-white Brumthrust closer.

"Of course your Highness. What do you want to talk to me about?"

"The grounders. I have been to Kaon and have seen them. We have to do something about them, if we want to fight a war with them. I don't think they have ever received proper medical care. Their frames are battered and broken and most of their systems are rudimentary at best. I want you and your trine to take a look at them and repair what's necessary. Can you do that?"

The doctor trine nodded.

"Self-evidently, your Highness. We might not be used to grounder frames, but we are still familiar with their built. Unless they are missing parts, they don't have in stock to replace, we will surely be able to repair every error and damage."

The four seekers talked for a little while, when the door hissed open and thundering steps echoed through the room. When he saw the other seekers stiffen in alert, Starscream turned around to see a less than pleased Megatron. He looked frightening like that.

"Megatron... did.. Something happen?" The prince asked reluctantly, wincing slightly when the loud voice of the sturdy gladiator bellowed in answer.

"Your troops! Apparently I am less than welcome here."

The four-colored seeker let his wings drop horizontally, holding out his hand in front of Hazeglide, who had drawn in air, to prepare for a rebuke.

"What have they done to give you that impression?"

"They threatened me! If you want to fight with me in this cause I want to be respected, not treated like the enemy!" Megatron growled, taking half a step forward.

Starscreams wings snapped back in anger.

"Oh and **your** men treated me with respect?!"

"Wow, what is going on in here?" Skywarp and Thundercracker stepped into the room and walked over to the others.

"Star, we have the weapons ready for inspection. Is everything alright?" Thundercracker asked, trying not to get swept up in the energy field of ire.

"Our troops seemed to have threatened him. I'm sorry Megaron, I should have gone with you. I should have known they wouldn't accept you easily. We don't have good impressions of grounders here in Vos." The prince apologized, letting his pristine wings move back against his shoulders.

The gladiator deflated with a rough sigh.

"And I should have taken you with me, to tell them not to harm you, too. I guess we both made our mistakes."

Starscream nodded.

"But it still won't work like this. If we want to fight this war together, we have to trust, or at least respect each other... I just don't know how to accomplish that..."

Skywarp waved his hand to get attention.

"I've read in one of TC's datapads that you're supposed to form such a contract by bonding the leaders of the two parties."

Everyone in the room looked at the royal left wing incredulously.

"Out of question!" Hazeglide shouted scandalized.

He wouldn't stand by and watch as the vosian heir gets bonded off to someone because of a war, that hadn't even started yet. Thundercracker laid a hand on his trineleader's shoulder.

"Warp's right somehow. I don't believe I'm really saying this, but it might actually be the only way to bring our two fractions together fast enough. Bonding would state, that the alliance is to be taken seriously. What do you think, Megatron?"

The Gladiator looked a little taken aback. He wanted the gorgeous seeker, but he had never thought he would get a chance to actually take him; and he definitly wouldn't have dreamed that he was served him on a silver platter.

"I will not decline the offer. But I won't force him either." He said, trying not to sound like a hungry beast, ready to snatch and devour his prey.

The silver mech's frame started to radiate heat. Starscream was faring no better, he somehow liked the impressive mech on another level, he wasn't appalled by the thought at all. Skywarp had started to hop up and down, the giddiness he felt overrode even the strange feeling of the trineleader through the bond.

"But he is still so young and-" Hazeglide started, but stopped, when Starscream turned towards him and smiled.

"It's ok. My trine is right. Though I can't believe they're setting me up." He laughed briefly. "But I want it, too." The prince said, turning halfway back, to look into the gladiator's optics. He saw fondness, joy, no leering grin, no lecherous energy field around him, like the time he was bound to Sentinel's berth.

"Hey TC, the wings are supposed to bond first~" The black purple seeker stopped his bouncing to snuggle up to the other and stroke his left wing.

Thundercracker flicked his wing away and slapped Skywarp on the back of his head.

"I know, shut up. We'll take care about that later." He said with great discomfort, his faceplate heating up.

"How am I going to report that to the seneschal?" The CMO asked worriedly.

"You shouldn't tell them at all. If you do they'll turn around and rip my head off." Starscream laughed. "I'll tell them when we meet again after the war."

"Then lay on the medical berths all of you, so I can install a firewall that prevents your sparks from splitting. We don't want sparklings with a war coming up." Hazeglide said with a sigh, asking his trinemates to help and give the grounder a check-up afterwards.

-x-

"So... we should decide on a leader, if we want to fight as one." Starscream nervously flicked his wings once. "I'll relinquish the main command to you Megatron, you have more experience in fighting. I'll be second. That would make you a Lord." The seeker started, once they had entered the even more luxurious quarters of his.

Where did those vosians get all these credits from?

"Lord?" The gladiator asked, a little confused.

"You position would be above mine, so you need a higher title. But since you are not of noble blood, you can't be a King, So you will be a lord."

"A _warlord_." Megatron chuckled but changed to a serious tone afterwards. "Are you really sure you want this?"

Starscream nodded.

"And you are also sure that _this_" the sturdy silver mech pointed to the prince's decorated floating berth, "will hold the both of us?"

Now it was the seeker's turn to chuckle.

"Are you afraid of my berth?"

The gladiator raised an optical ridge, he didn't like being laughed at.

"Don't worry. It can carry our weight easily. We make the whole city float with the same technique."

Megatron thought about asking how the vosians could make things float like that anyway, but decided against it. They had other things to do now and he was getting impatient. The warlord picked his intended up in bridal style and dropped him onto the berth, earning a surprised noise.

"Enough talk then." He growled playfully and began to gently trace the lower edge of soon-to-be-his seeker's wings. It was still hard for him to believe this was really happening. Not used to such touches, Starscream moaned and flicked them up, away from the other's talons.

"So wings really are as sensitive as the rumors say." The gladiator chuckled again and carefully got onto the berth, kneeling over the other's delicate, sitting frame. He touched his broad chestplates to the seeker's and not roughly, but firmly pushed him down onto the berth, that was coated with some strangely soft, alien fabric. Not minding the floating berth anymore, now that it hadn't moved an inch when had kneeled onto it, Megatron began to pet his seeker's wings and nip his neck cables. He felt the others frame radiating heat and heard his spark beat a little too frantically, over the strange, tense silence. With a displeased sigh and a somewhat worried look on his face, he sat up.

"What's wrong?"

His berthmate fidgeted and averted his gaze.

"It's just... I'm a little nervous."

The sturdy mech scoffed.

"Nervous? I thought you wanted this."

Enraged and embarrassed, the seeker looked back at him.

"Don't make fun of me you stupid-"

"Want a cube of High Grade, to ease up a little?" He asked in a gentle tone, stopping his intended's rant before it really began.

"Maybe a glass..."

-x-

"Ready?"

"Ready."

The High Grade, had worked wonders for his systems. When he had been trapped under his soon-to-be Lords impressive frame, he suddenly hadn't been so determined to bond anymore. A bond was something eternal, but he felt no aversion to it. He wanted to share it with Megatron. What had really made his spark flutter, was the suspect of interfacing. If he spoke in all honesty, he was a little scared of it, he was still an adolescent, and though Hazeglide had confirmed, that his systems were ready for intercourse, he didn't feel so ready at all. Now that his systems were all fuzzy from the sharp fuel he had consumed, the hesitation was gone. Slowly, seductively, he stood up from his chair and walked over to his berth, thrusters clicking against the polished floor and out of habit he let his hips sway smoothly with every step. It calmed him further, that the other was still sitting by the table they had consumed the prized vosian high grade at, doing nothing but to watch. He half-lay down on his berth in a comfortable position, his legs stretched out, slightly bent and sidewards. Only when he had stilled, the warlord moved over to him slowly, to not make him feel threatened. Starscream could hear the cooling fans of the other hum to life. When the gladiator stopped right in front of the berth's bottom end, he leant back, propping himself up on his forearms and parted his long legs just a little bit, inviting the other. The impressive, sturdy mech before him acknowledged his sign and slowly moved on top of him. As the prince wrapped one arm after the other around the silver mech's shoulders, he was instantly supported by one of his strong arms between his wings. A lot more confident than before, the vosian prince moved in, let his hand roam about the broad back of his berthmate, while he nuzzled his neck.

Encouraged by the other's sudden eagerness, Megatron boldly moved his free hand down the seeker's backstrut and cupped his aft, stroking the sensitive plating. A moan escaped Starscream's voice box and he clawed softly into the warlord's back. The gladiator's engine purred and he let himself be spurred on by the sounds the prince made. Once more, he started to gently nip at his neck cables, while letting the hand he had on his tail wander over his left thigh. When he stroked the inside of it, the seeker couldn't suppress a mewl. This felt a lot better than the four-colored mech had thought. Slowly, the strong hand on his thigh moved upwards again and came to rest on his interface-panel. Gently, his berthmate drew little circles on it, making him squeal and twitch his wings.

"Open up for me." Megatron growled seductively.

This time the seeker's systems were not flooded with remorse when he granted that request. With a soft click, his cable unlocked and his interface-panel hissed open. A talon traced the rim of his port. The unusual feeling that motion brought, made him moan, arch his back and flutter his wings. Satisfied by the result of his actions, the gladiator repeated it several times, always changing the way he did it. Right before the prince was a squirming mess, he cried out in shock and pain clawing himself into the broad, decorated back he held on to with full force, as he felt a sudden sting between his legs. Megatron had pierced his seal with one of his claws. The strong hand between his wings began to stroke comfortingly and let him down a bit, so that the warlord could look into his optics. Starscream gave nod, deciding to trust the other. Gently, he was laid down on his back. He heard a click and a hiss, telling him that the gladiator had opened his interface panel, too.

"You connect first." The voice of his soon-to be bondmate ordered him gently.

The seeker prince nodded and led his connector to the other's port and twisted it to lock it. He felt nothing in doing so, but when the cord of the warlord connected to his own port, closing the circuit, he almost saw the sparks flying. The vosian moaned loudly and arched his back, when his systems were flooded with utter bliss, as the connection was made. His berthmate only chuckled.

"If that makes you squirm already, wait for what I have in store for you. Just relax and keep your interface array still." He told him calmly, lust laced his deep voice.

Their frames were already radiating a lot of heat by now. A click later, Starscream felt hundreds of thin cables invade his port and hugged Megatron closer, to support himself, mewling at the strange, but oh so nice feeling. When they began twisting, and giving off energy, while mixing their energon his wings started to flutter madly against the soft surface of the berth. The seeker moaned as the cables in his sensitive port began to thrust into him. His back arched again. The gladiator above him purred in pleasure, setting a perfect pace for his thrusts and stroked his wings, sides and cockpit to calm him. This was just amazing. The vosian prince moved his hands to the other's aft, massaging it and earned a few lustful moans with his action. As the cables in his port continued to rub against his sensor nodes, the pleasure rose to an almost unbearable level. Both of them moaned in pleasure and lust, and opened their chestplates simultaneously. Their sparks bonded and their memory files were transferred to one another. They witnessed everything the other had, as if it had happened to themselves. Every feeling was shared and the feeling they had now, was doubled in intensity. Starscream made his name all honor, as Megatron brought him up, over and above the edge into sweet overload. The seeker screamed, while the warlord roared out. The prince's thin legs started to spasm slightly from the afterglow of the strange sensation and his wings still fluttered against the berth. When the bond had been formed, their chestplates hissed shut again. The gladiator's cooling fans hummed madly, as he disconnected their cables. Right now, the prince felt more content than he ever had. Tiredly, he closed his interface-panel, just as his new bondmate had and relaxed under the others comforting touch. Megatron started to stroke his cockpit in return. He lifted him up and carefully laid him on his side, to lie down beside him, hugging him close.

"My Seeker." He growled playfully.

"Yours." Starscream answered, smiling sweetly. Enjoying the other's presence and the nice afterglow of overload, he snuggled up to his now bondmate, who covered them with the thermic tarp, that lay on the berth and held him securely, possessively.

"I would have never thought I would ever bond with a ground pounder." The prince chuckled, tiredly.

"Why are you calling me a ground pounder when you know, that I can fly?" The warlord asked, with half closed optics.

"Because you're a ground pounder unless you can fly without transforming."

"But only seekers can do that."

"Exactly."

"Brat."

* * *

_TBC..._

_I refuse to call the 'connector' a spike, because that's the name of the human boy in TF G1._

_That just ruins the mood for me. And I think port sounds better than valve. My story, my names. _

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter._


	13. The first battle

The next morning, Starscream called all of the remaining seekers in Vos, be it maid or soldier, into the grand hall for an audience. There was much to tell and much to do. Anxiously, the freshly bonded vosian prince paced up and down in his quarters, not caring if he woke up the still recharging gladiator on his berth, with the clicks his truster heels made. It calmed him somewhat, that the bond he had formed with Megatron, was not open jet, Hazeglide had told him, as Coldwind had before in his many lessons, that it would take a few cycles, for the bond to open. That didn't make it any easier for him to tell his people the news though. How would they receive it? Would they be mad at him? What if they lost respect for him, because of his rash action? How could-?

"Starscream..."

The seeker halted his steps and turned around, to see his bondmate prop himself up on one elbow joint, looking up to him with tired optics.

"What are you doing? I'ts still in the middle of the night cycle... Come back to berth."

Looking out of the window for a click, the prince sighed and resumed his pacing. The warlord was right, it would still take about three groons until the sun would rise, but he couldn't help but worry. How would they win the war, if his troops didn't trust him anymore? Would Vos fall because of his decision? A strong arm suddenly slid around his waist, stopping his nervous movement. He hadn't heard the heavy frame of the other move at all.

"What's wrong? ... Do you regret bonding with me?" The deep, smooth voice of the sturdy mech asked, showing a slight hint of concern.

Silently, Starscream shook his head and leant back against the strong, comforting chest. He didn't complain or struggle, when he was lifted off the floor and placed back onto his still warm berth. After hesitating for a click, he leant against the silver frame, that settled beside him, letting the steady beat of the other's spark calm his riled up processor.

"Whatever it is, we'll manage. I'll stay."

He heard the soothing dark voice of his new bondmate and closed his optics, to recharge for a few more groons, feeling a little guilty about waking all of his people in the middle of the recharge cycle.

-x-

When he met his now also freshly bonded trinemates in the huge washing bay of the tower, that was now operated by maids, as Summerbreeze and her trine had left with the others, the trineleader's worries vanished completely. His two Wings looked so happy.

"Congratulations you two." He said, letting the trinebond fill with joy.

"Star! Thanks, to you too! How was it? Do you have a videofeed? You recorded it right? I 'wanna see!" Skywarp launched himself at the prince, snuggling into him, a silly grin plastered on his faceplates.

Thundercracker came over to them and whacked his bondmate across the helm, like he did so often.

"Idiot." He said and gently touched Starscreams right wing.

"How do you feel?"

A small, but warm smile graced his faceplate.

"Good. But a little troubled. What do you think will our people say to the news?"

"We'll see. Where is Megatron?" Thundercracker asked, looking around.

"He refused to get up this morning, something about rare times to recharge in. But he said he would come to the meeting in the Grand Hall later."

After a thorough preening the royal trine made their way to the Grand Hall to prepare for the speech, while they consumed their morning Energon. Megatron also came in later, not freshly polished, but still clean from Hazeglide's treatment from the cycle before. He greeted the trine, refraining from sentimental gestures, now that they had spectators, even if it was only his trinemates and a few maids. Starscream guessed that gladiators could be pretty proud. Said gladiator grabbed himself a cube and drank it, causing Skywarp to babble on about why the grounder was allowed to drink directly from the cube, when he had to drink from the long-stemmed crystal glasses like every other seeker.

The moment the guards opened the doors for the others to enter the Grand Hall, Starscream and the other's stood in front of the seneschal's throne, flanked by his trinemates, while Megatron stood a step to the right, on the same level. This sight alone upset some of the seekers. Dreadwing stepped forth, after he and his trine left the doors they were guarding before, to also attend the meeting.

"Your Highness. With all due respect, why is that_ grouder_ standing in such a position?" He said, in a calm tone, but his wings formed a stressed horizontal line.

"I have to agree your Highness, Prince Starscream. Letting an _outsider_ stand on top of the stairs to the royal throne and the throne of the seneschal is outrageous." Ramjet said, also dropping his wings into the same stressed position, his voice beseeching.

"That place is reserved for the royal seekers and the seneschal only. Your Highness, I beg of you, let us correct that _insolent mech_." Acidstorm came to aid the other two trines.

"Enough!" Starscream snapped, fanning his long, pristine wings. He could feel the rage building in the warlords system without the bond, it was clear enough in his energy signature, so he decided to speak, before the gladiator decided to move.

"This grounder... Is no longer an outsider to us. His designation is Megatron. We have decided to fight a war for his cause, we deemed just. To protect our home and freedom. The lines that divided us seekers and his men has to be erased. We will treat each other with respect, as if they were one of our own, regardless of built. We will fight as one. Under **his** command. For **his** cause, _with_ _him_. And to prove the verity of my words and intention, I, Prince Starscream of Vos, have bonded this mech. So he is, though not in built, one of us now."

The room went completely silent. Every seeker in the room was startled with disbelief. Only when Hazeglide knelt and chanted ''til all are one', was the stupor broken and the others followed, some only with great reluctance, but if that was the decision their prince had made, they would follow without question.

Megatron was a little astonished, about the loyalty of the seekers. They hadn't seemed pleased with the decision of the four-colored prince, but not one complaint was voiced after he had spoken, even though Starscream had not threatened them with one word. Something like this was new to the kaonian. The warlord and the seeker flock had flown to the arena in Kaon, to repeat the speech from Megatrons side, with his men as audience, the maids had stayed behind, naturally. The gladiator's speech went not unlike the other, with the addition of ordering his men to treat the vosians with respect, or they would miss a few limbs, but the rest went without complaint, but with a lot more cat-calls and hollering.

After the speech, it was time for organizing everything for the battles to be fought. The first step, was to assign the military ranks. Megatron would, of course, be the Lord to the Decepticons, Starscream, the Second in Command and air commander. Soundwave would be TIC and Intelligence officer. Shockwave would be in charge of all scientific things concerning battle. Skyfire and another troop of seekers, Starscream included, would lead all the other scientific projects, like building floating warships. Hazeglide would stay the CMO, there wasn't really a choice since he and his trine were the only good medics they had and he had to say, the stealth jets had done a formidable job in repairing his troops. Once the seeker medic had taught Hook and the other constructicons his knowledge, they would be in charge of field repairs, and the ground troops. The rest of the Decepticons were devided into the standard groups; Attack forces: Frontliners, Backup, Air strikers were Starscream's problem; Special Operations: Intelligence, Surveillance, Scientists; Medical assistance.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sentinel Prime had arrived in the military city of Kalis. As soon as he was allowed to pass the heavily guarded borders, he was greeted by the Head of the complex.

"Prime, Sir. Welcome to our facility. I take it you have come to make preparations for defense against the Decepticon forces?"

The Governor started to walk, pleased that the other fell into step one nanoclick behind, showing submission.

"Formal as always old friend. But although it grieves me to have to say so, I fear defense alone will not suffice. The Decepticons have already caused such devastating damage with their first attack, that I have come to think it would be best to nip those fiends in the bud. We will have to attack their core, Ultra Magnus. My Intelligence provided me with the information, that they are stationed in the city of Kaon. I hoped we would never have to take such a step, but we will have to attack them as soon as possible."

The blue and white military commander nodded, he knew what those words really meant and he had been briefed by his own security, that the murders in the Supreme Court of Judicature in Helex had, opposing to what was broadcasted, not been done by the gladiator named Megatron, but he did not care at all, as he shared Sentinel's view of the Decepticons. They were ruthless and undisciplined. An eyesore. Had to be disposed of. So it was with pleasant anticipation, when he led the Prime through the complex and scheduled an immediate meeting in the conference hall, to discuss battle plans. And while Sentinel spoke his false words, Ultra Magnus remembered back to the day his friend had obtained the Matrix of Leadership.

Back then, the military commander had been a mere foot soldier, lucky because he was befriended with the secretary to the former Prime. Zeta Prime had been a strict, but sadly rightful ruler, unwilling to see that letting the lower classes suffer to gain luxury and wealth, was completely acceptable. Why should they care if some lowly workers starved on the streets, as long as they payed their taxes? What did it matter if some worthless miners were locked in and scrapped, as long as they brought them those vast amounts of Energon? Giving them houses and medical care was ridiculous! A waste of credits! They would offline anyways! They were disposable! And he had befriended Sentinel, because he was one of the few mechs who shared his opinion. It showed later, that some of the other governors who reigned together with Zeta Prime thought the same way, but were held back by him. So with the help of the others, and some of the other soldiers he had gathered, Ultra Magnus plotted against the current Prime. They decided that it was time for a new one. Sentinel should reign over Cybertron and spread true justice, where the rich and noble would gain wealth and the low lives got what they deserved. One day, when Zeta prime _accidentally_ caught a virus, they terminated him and stole the Matrix before it could disappear, forcing it into Sentinel's chest plates. The archivist Alpha Trion had heard about the plot, as he came to deliver a data pad, Zeta had wanted to read. At first, they wanted to offline him for it, but that would have been too obvious. So they let him live under constant surveillance, forbidding him to leave the iaconian Hall of Records. The old fool had tried to make them 'see reason', but it was the other way around. _They_ were right. Not _him_ or _Zeta_. And all the things _had_ changed for the better, once Sentinel had started his regime.

* * *

After the ranks had been assigned and a few first things discussed, a loud bang echoed though the city, soon followed by another.

"Move to the upper level! We're under attack!" Megatron bellowed, directing his fighting forces, as if he had done so for eons.

Thanks to the downloading of the information from the data pads on waging war, they have read back in Vos, Starscream was equally able to snap into his role instantly, letting the newly installed programs take over.

"Skyfire! Take the other Shuttles and lead them to Vos! Go to the armory and bring us the weapons, guns, cannons, bombs, missiles, everything you can carry! Ramjet! You and your division take flight and bombard them with what you have from above, before our ground troops reach the battle. Dreadwing! Your division will be responsible for air support, keep in constant radio contact with the stealth jets and aid whomever needs it. Acidstorm! Take your stealth jets and provide information about the enemy movements!" The vosian prince ordered, relying solely on his battle programs, glad that they were compatible with his system.

"TC! Warp! With me! We'll concentrate our firepower on protecting Lord Megatron!"

"You got it, boss!" Skywarp quipped and transformed, flying a few impatient barrel rolls.

Thundercracker followed suit and the trine flew above their new Leader, as they moved out for their first battle. Nobody had thought that it would come so soon. The troops were worried. Sentinel had probably sent the whole military of Kalis and, aside from the seekers, they did not even have long range weapons yet. Of course they were lucky, that Shockwave and Soundwave had deserted their old facility, but they hadn't had time to re-clone the beasts, they had destroyed, so they didn't fall into Autobot hands.  
The coneheads had struck and Megatron was the first to charge right into battle, followed by his men, guarded by the vosians. It seemed they had another streak of luck. The stealth jet team radioed the information, that only three enemy divisions had attacked, neither Sentinel nor Ultra Magnus among them. The Autobots were underestimating them. That did not win them the fight, though. Kalis was the main war facility on Cybertron and their soldiers were equipped with the most high-tech weapons made; from grounders. Without the slightest hesitance, the army of Kalis stormed the city, plowing into the buildings, killing masses of civilians, innocent bystanders, mechs, femmes, younglings, sparklings. Only those few kaonians of autobot race were spared from their insanity, that is, if they did not resist and joined, because if they did, they were terminated like the rest of the citizens and their sparklings kidnaped. The Decepticons held their ground, slicing through the enemy troops with gladiatorial brutality, but received many injuries, and could only do so much damage. The difference in weaponry was just too great. While the soldiers from Kalis carried plasma cannons and laser guns, their own forces were equipped with swords and axes. The only advantage they had over the autobots, were their inborn internal weapons systems. But although they could transform, wholly or partially, and shoot, the life in Kaon had been harsh, and only the vosians were fueled with Energon with quality high enough to keep fighting and firing their weapons simultaneously. If the grounders kept their internal guns and canons active, they would soon loose strength. Many buildings fell and even more lives were taken, as the Autobots steadily pressed forward, slowly pushing the poorly equipped forces under Megatron back. A comm. link call reached Starscream, the moment the Autobots tried to go down to Kaons second level.

/Skyfire reporting in. Artillery will reach you in a click./

Finally, some hope.

/Do not touch ground. Remain outside kaonian airspace. Sent in four shuttles loaded with bombs. Drop them on my command./ The prince called back, before transmitting his conversation to the warlord.

"Decepticons! Fall back!" The silver mech roared and ordered Soundwave to hack into the citys system to open secret passages to allow his men to retreat to the lower levels, while the vosian air commander ordered his seekers to leave kaonian airspace and meet up with the other shuttles. Within a breem, the tables turned and the Autobot troops were terminated without exeption. Sadly, so was the first level of Kaon, though most of the damage had already been inflicted by Sentinel's men.

-x-

That night cycle, grounders and seekers celebrated together for the first time in a gluxin. It was also the first time, that Macadam's had so many customers. The high-grade flowed, and after a few glasses, even the cosseted seekers didn't mind the low quality of the sharp fuel anymore. Gradually, they began to talk to the grounders, some even finding a new comrade, noticing, that albeit they were different, they still had some things in common. Skywarp had already formed a few loose friendships, while Thundercracker held back, not liking mechs who couldn't fly. Megatron had stayed with Starscream the whole time during the celebration, growling at every drunk mech who tried to come too close to his hard-earned prize. He was drunk, too, naturally, but he seemed to be able to hold his liquor opposing to his bondmate, who already fought his systems, trying not to initiate recharge. Megatron was more than pleased with his new allies. It was hard for him to admit it, but the vosians had won them the fight. His troops were strong, but they weren't many, the autobot military outnumbered them easily. The seeker medics had also worked astonishingly fast and efficient, having repaired all serious injuries in time, so they hadn't even lost one fighter. Right now, they could celebrate.

A weight slowly leaned into the warlord's shoulder and he turned away from his conversation with Shockwave and the blue-yellow fighter jet, that had reluctantly accepted him by now, to see that his seeker prince had fallen into recharge on him. When he stood and picked him up, the seeker guard did not move.

"I'll be right back." The silver gladiator said, carrying the light frame to one of the guest rooms of Macadam's lying him onto a berth carefully.

Skywarp and Thundercracker followed him in, stating they wanted to stay with their trineleader to watch over him. Megatron nodded and left to attend the party again. The royal right Wing sighed, as he stroked his bondmates back, who had leaned against him, drunkenly.

"You were right 'Warp. Bonding him off was a good decision after all."

* * *

_TBC..._

_I will be cutting all the battles a little short, because of personal reasons. _

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter._


	14. The flow of war

The next morning, Starscream was ripped out of his sleep by a strange tugging at his spark. In a flash, he onlined his optics and shot up into a sitting position, right hand flat on his chestplates. He exvented and calmed, when he remembered, where it stemmed from. The bond between Megatron and him had opened. With a quick motion, he slid out between his trinemates, who had slept beside him the nightcycle, stood up and streched elegantly.

"TC, Warp? Are you awake?"

Thundercracker stirred and lazily onlined one optic to look at the prince.

"Warp's still asleep. He drank himself into oblivion yesterday, I don't think he'll wake up so soon."

The four colored seeker chuckled softly.

"I'm going to search for Megatron. Recharge on, if you want to, you still look tired." He said, before silently exiting the room.

Curiously the seeker looked up and down the corridor, before deciding, that he had absolutely no idea where by the allspark he was. Giving the newly opened bond a try, he sent a requesting pulse through it. On the other end Megatron gave a start from a sudden strange feeling that surged trough his very life force. A similar thing also had happened a bit earlier in the morning. This must be the bond, he had fromed. The gladiator rubbed at his chest, not being used to the strange feeling at all. When he asked himself if the sudden pulse he felt had come from his bondmate, he accidentally sent the same pulse back. Starscream received the answer and went down the corridor, following the information of the link. It was practical to be able to track the bonded partners down like that. The vosian was glad, that the normal sparkbonds seemed to work almost like the trinebonds.

Slowly he advanced on the warlord, as soon as he had spotted him, not far from the table outside of the bar, they had sat at, at last night's party. Without making a sound, he snuck up on the gladiator, who sat with his back to him, a cube in his hand.

"Awake already?" The seeker asked in a whisper, his face mere inches away from the other's audio receptors.

Within a nanoclick, Megatron sprung up and turned around, ready to fight whatever threatened him. He visibly deflated, when he saw who was responsible for the sudden intrusion.

"Primus, Starscream don't do that." He scolded, glad, that he hadn't struck right away, like he usually did.

"I'm used to waking up early... There was a strange feeling in my spark. Was that your fault?"

After a click of stunned staring, the seeker began to laugh, he had forgotten, that grounders didn't grow up with bonds like the seekers did. Before the silver mech could snap at him to stop making fun of him, he sent a burst of data about sparkbonds through said connection. Megatron read the file and tried it right away, sending a flow of annoyance, at the laughter still ringing from his beautiful bondmate's voice box. The vosian prince stopped and stepped closer to the other.

"The bond has been opened this morning and I tried it, so yes, it was my fault somehow. Open your chestplates, we need to strengthen it once. You don't regret the bond do you?"

The sturdy mech growled playfully in answer and drew his gorgeous little seeker close to his frame, wrapping both of his strong arms around his slim waist. He watched the long, pristine wings of the other flutter with glee, as they touched their sparks together to fasten their connection.

Starscream's chestplates hissed shut and he looked up into the bright red optics of his gladiator. Megatron looked right back, a content smile on his faceplate.

"We don't have much time for that now. We should discuss attacking the Autobots, now that a few squadrons of their men are down." His deep voice rumbled quietly.

"You're right. I would say we should attack right at their core and destroy the governmental buildings in Helex first, to make a statement. Attacking Kalis while we are still so few, would be too risky." The vosian answered, stealing a quick kiss from the other's mouth, having to stand on the tips of his thrusters to reach it.

A feigned displeased frown showed itself on the warlords faceplate at the words of his Second.

"That's not how it goes Starscream. I am the Decepticon's leader. I give the orders. You are my Second in Command, you decided and pronounced so yourself, so act on it." He growled, kissing the other back, refusing to release the slim waist he held flush against his body.

Nobody else was up yet having drunken off their processors at the celebration, so there wasn't anyone watching.

"So what do you suggest we do, oh mighty leader?" The seeker asked, his voice breathy.

"I say we attack the governmental buildings in Helex, to make a statement, because attacking Kalis with our few numbers is too risky at the moment."

The prince chuckled lightly at the answer of the other.

"Oh of course, that sounds like a much better plan. You're a genius, my Lord."

-x-

It seemed like Primus was with them. Or Unicron. Whoever was responsible for luck and success in battles. Probably 'the destroyer'. Aside from whom gave them the upper hand, Helex seemed to be relatively unguarded. If the Autobots expected an attack, it certainly wasn't here.

Starscream had sent Ramjet and the coneheads in for an Air strike again, to destroy as much ground as possible, before the rest of the troops attacked. The stealth team had moved in to check out the battlefield and soon came the positive report from Acidstorm.

/Your Highness- I mean _commander_ Starscream, battlefield clear, guards stationed at every entrance of the governmental buildings, we have also discovered some traps and landmines, no other troops in sight./

The air commander delivered the news to the Decepticon's leader, who nodded and gave him full and free command for aviation for the duration of this battle.

"Lord Megatron, My trine and I will move in first, to deactivate all the landmines, so you and the ground forces have a clear path." The seeker said, and flew off with his trine, after awaiting the 'granted' for his plan.

Pushing his turbine, the air superiority jets spread across the Helexian airspace, communicating trough their bond, using their precise radars, to find and destroy every single mine there was. Within an impossibly short time span, the field was cleared. The silver gladiator watched in silent, unnoticed awe, as the royal trine moved in a speed he never thought could be achieved by anything.

Being pulled out of his daze by his second's report, he led his troops into the attack, completely destroying everything, as they waltzed over the city like the blast wave of a super nova. One building after the other fell, but Sentinel was nowhere in sight. When they came to the private mansion of the Prime, Hydrostorm, Acidstorms right wing, reported seeing the cowardly mech leaving the borders of Helex in the direction of Kalis.

"Megatron!" Starscream shouted, as he approached the warlord and transformed, to land beside him.

"Sentinel is retreating towards Kalis. Should we give chase?"

The Decepticon's leader shook his head and raised his fist, to signal his troops their victory in this fight.

"No." He spoke in a hushed tone to his SIC.

"Let the coward flee. If we kill him now, his troops will come to avenge him. And I want to wait for that, until Shockwave has finished his cloning operations."

-x-

When the Autobots attacked Kaon about a decacycle later, many more mechs had gathered around the city and joined the Decepticons. Soundwave had suggested, that they designed themselves a symbol for easier identification and to simply have something, the citizens of Cybertron could remember. They soon all wore their symbol on their chassis, Starscream arguing vehemently about not painting them on the seeker's wings, as it lowered their sensibility, so they simply painted them on their chestplates.

The fight was fierce, as the new sign had pushed the morale of the Decepticon troops and the loss in Helex had fueled the will of the Autobots to avenge their former governmental Headquarters. Especially since the act had had so much influence on the citizens. Sentinel didn't want to believe how many of his former subjects had answered to that gladiator's unspoken call. But what did he expect from those low-lives. It didn't matter, their sparks weren't worth a thing. The nobles and the wealthy were still on his side and that was all that mattered. Still, the ire inside the Prime boiled dangerously. A long time the battle raged on, no side seemed to win, though Megatron's troops seemed to slowly push Sentinel's further away from Kaon. The struggle went on and the energy levels of both sides, began to sink into the red zone. Noticing that, the governor began to panic and called retreat, not being used to the strange feeling of an almost empty tank.

Landing on his leader's side again, Starscream asked for permission to pursue the retreating Autobots, to shoot the Prime in the back and make use of the weakened state of their enemies.

"No, it's too risky. Our energy levels are as low as theirs."

The four-colored seeker fanned his wings in answer.

"Who knows when we get a chance like that again?! We must strike now, while we have the perfect opportunity to do so!"

"I said **no**!" The warlord turned to face his second, his faceplates showing a displeased frown.

"And that's final." He added, as he saw the slim flier open his mouth to retort.

Starscream hissed, but let the subject drop. Had Megatron known his bondmate's temper and youngling like recklessness, he wouldn't have let him out of his sight. Now he could only regret and rage about his own negligence and the other's foolishness. A few clicks, after the warlord had directed his troops back to the lower levels of Kaon, the adolescent seeker his trinemates and called them for a sneak attack on the Sentinels ugly aft. Skywarp and Thundercracker naturally followed the orders of their trineleader and took to the air.

The very moment the trine charged their null rays, Ultra Magnus turned around and alarmed the other's about the coming attack. It happened in a matter of nanoclicks. Out of the corner of his optics, Starscream saw a shot nearing his left Wing's undercarriage and pushed Skywarp out of the way. The shot graced him, but didn't cause any damage. The trineleader fired several shots, none of them hit his intended target, as every time a soldier sacrificed himself for the Prime.

Caught up in the battle, he didn't hear Thundercrackers protests about the ongoing fight and didn't heed his warning, until it was too late. Warnings flashed up in his HUD, and the vosian prince felt his thrusters fail from the lack of fuel. How could he have been so foolish? Shooting out his last energy reserves, when he had already been low. The four-colored seeker fell, consciousness slowly slipping out of his systems. Skywarp dove after him, but was stopped by his blue bondmate.

"It's no use! We don't stand a chance against them all. We need to go back and inform Megatron! If we try to engage, we'll all get captured!"

And with a heavy feeling in their systems, the royal Wings used their last strength to retreat, hoping their beloved trineleader would hold on, until they came to rescue him.

* * *

This time, Starscream didn't have to wonder what had happened to him, and with whom he was. When his systems rebooted, he was instantly reminded. He was lying on a berth, that definitely wasn't his and was staring into optics, that definitely did not belong to his bondmate or trine.

"Prime." The seeker prince hissed, sitting up on the berth.

He noticed he wasn't restricted, but his energy levels were so low, he couldn't do much anyway. Sentinel hadn't deemed it necessary to shackle his prisoner, the governor had refueled, once he had retreated to Kalis. No matter what his long desired trophy tried, he could easily overpower every attempt of him to fight back. So low on Energon as the vosian was, there also wasn't any chance of him being able to fly away, as was proven by the fact, that his thrusters had failed him on the battlefield, making the capture even easier than last time.

"What are you planning to do to me?" The beautiful winged mech asked in an aggressive tone, barely having the strength to hold himself in the half-sitting position he was in.

"What do you think?" Sentinel chuckled darkly.

"I'm going to finish what I had started the last time I had you in my possession."

"That won't be possible. I already bonded Megatron."

With an ugly snarl the Prime backhanded the prince, making him fall sideways back onto the berth.

"How could you?! That **low life**! Such a **worthless scrappile**?! When you could have had **me**! The **Prime**!" The sturdy red and gold mech sprung up from the berth he had been sitting on, and started to walk in circles to calm his riling engine.

"It doesn't matter. Kalis is under my control. This military facility has the best scientists on Cybertron. They will find a way to undo the bond and then _I_ will be the one your spark belongs to and I _alone_. Until then, I will just have to be satisfied with what I can have now." Sentinel stopped his pacing and slowly turned to his prey.

Starscreams optics widened, when he saw the predatory grin that spread on the other's faceplate. His long wings began to tremble and he couldn't stop a shriek from escaping his vocalizer, as the governor knelt on the berth and harshly pulled the seeker under him by his decorated, red hipplates.

"Last time, I would have been gentle with you, but you need to be punished for bonding with a lowly gladiator so insolently. You're _mine_. Now open up." The prime growled, roughly gripping the other's interface panel.

"Never." The proud vosian spat, trying to push his attacker off, but his Energon level were too low to support his movement.

"You will learn to obey me. I said **open**!"

An agonizing pain flared through the prince's frame, when Sentinel viciously grabbed his right wing, with his free hand and bent the highly sensitive appendage slightly.

"**AAHH**! **No**! **Stop**! **Please**!" Starscream squalled and reluctantly let his interface panel snap open, to stop the other from damaging his wing further. He regret his yielding dearly, but wings were essential for any seeker's survival. A sick smile formed on the Prime's faceplate and his blue optics lit up with glee. He let go of the vosians wing and started to pet it with mock gentleness.

"Good seeker. Behave and I might be nice and not damage you any more."

When he heard the interface panel of his captor retract, he offlined his optics and tired to keep silent. A few pain filled moans left his voice box, as the governor from Helex forcefully invaded his resisting port over and over again. This was different than the last time he had interfaced, with Megatron it had been wonderful; this... was just plain agonizing and the ugly grunts his tormentor made rang as a painful reminder of just who was berthing him. It was his own fault. His bondmate had warned him about attacking again. He should have listened. Did his trinemates escape? Where were they? Had they been captured, too? No, unlikely. Sentinel would have threatened them with their well-being if that would have been the case. He had to get back to them.

Letting the pain he felt fuel his determitation, Starscream onlined his optics, shot up and buried his sharp canine dentae deep into the Prime's neckcables, drawing the energon out of them, drinking every bit he could steal from the gushing, ruptured lines, until he was battered away. He cried out in pain, when the connection of their interface equipment was ripped apart, chipping his port slightly in the process and he was pushed off the berth.

"Argh! You naughty seeker!" The sturdy governor roared, holding his injured neck.

A small smile graced the vosian's faceplate, when his systems stopped giving off low energy warnings. The Prime must have consumed rich fuel. Using the element of surprise, the Decepticon's SIC waited, until his enemy was bent over him, to pick him up, before lashing out and ramming his extremely sharp talons into the other's chestplates. Sentinel howled and took a few steps back. The seeker took that opportunity, to transform and fly through the window into the open air, pushing his turbines to the maximum. His dented wing made it nearly impossible to fly straight and it hurt like pit as well. Regardless, Starscream pushed forward, until he finally crash landed in the deserted canyon that was located between Helex and Kaon and started to purge his tanks.

* * *

"He did **what**?! That **fool**!" Megatron roared, threw his empty Energon cube on the ground and fiercely hit the light post beside him, denting the poor thing in the process.

He couldn't help but blame himself for this incident. He should have kept an optic on his reckless bondmate. Why hadn't he listened?! He was _so_ going to scold the stubborn seeker's audio receptors off, when he found him. But first, he had to rescue him. _Again_! Seriously, he had to buy a leash.

Thundercracker and Skywarp helped with the search, since the bond was unresponsive from Starscream's side. Gladly, it was still there. Helex had been their first guess. The city was destroyed, but that was exactly the reason, why this would be the perfect place to hide a prisoner. Full of worry, they searched every corner of the forsaken city, without luck. Sentinel must have taken him to Kalis. Not a breem later, the prince's side of the bond opened, revealing his movement in the air and the bad state of his frame.

"He's injured." Thundercracker spoke, more to himself than to the others.

"He crash-landed somewhere! Let's teleport there!" Skywarp exclaimed, gripping the arms of the gladiator and his bondmate, before initiating the warping sequence.

"Star?" The blue seeker asked, his wings dropping on his back, as he neared the still form of his trineleader.

"Oh frag! TC... Star's... Oh, frag!" Skywarp's wings began to tremble and a drop of magenta G-fluid fell from his optics.

Megatron's enginge froze at the sight in front of him, before he snapped out of it and lifted the unconscious four-colored seeker out of the puddle of used energon.

"Skywarp! We need to teleport him to your medic right now! If he has lost that much energon he won't have much longer!"

Snapping out of his stupor, the black-purple seeker nodded and warped them back to the arena of Kaon, before grabbing an unsuspecting Hazeglide, who squeaked in surprise, as his arm was suddenly yanked away from the datapad he was reading, and teleported straight to the medical ward in Vos. As soon as they arrived, Skywarp fell into recharge from exhaustion.

"What's going on?" Hazeglide asked, before spotting his prince in his new leader's arms.

"Put him on the berth, quickly!"

* * *

_TBC..._

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter._


End file.
